Introduction Acne is one of the most common skin conditions worldwide. Self-medication for acne is a fairly common practice among medical students. The objective of our study was to identify the prevalence of self-medication and to assess its knowledge, attitude, and practices among medical students. Materials and methods This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at Rawalpindi Medical University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, from January 2019 to June 2019. Data were collected by using the convenient sampling technique. Students were asked to fill a semi-structured questionnaire. Students of all the medical years studying in our university were included in the study. Data were entered and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, US). Results Out of 349 students, 244 (69.9%) suffered from acne and self-medication was practiced by 123 (50.4%) acne sufferers. The practice of self-medication was significantly higher in students having acne lesions on the face (52.2%). The most common source of information was reported to be acquaintances (55.8%). Most of the students had knowledge of the dosage of drugs (46.3%) and precautions for their use (41.5%). Sixty-three percent of the students were of the opinion that self-medication is part of self-care. Most of the students read the expiration date on the drug label (88.6%). Conclusion Acne is a highly prevalent condition among medical students and the practice of self-medication among acne sufferers is high. The practice of self-medication and visits to dermatologists were both significantly more common in the students with lesions on the face. The knowledge of students regarding self-medication of acne was not adequate.
Keywords: acne; medical students; self-medication.
Copyright © 2019, Tameez-ud-din et al.