PREVALENCE OF

OVER THE COUNTER DRUG USAGE

IN HUDCO COLONY, PEELAMEDU,
COIMBATORE.

A PSBH Project done by

D.SENTHIL
ANUSHA
V.SUDHA
YOHA LAKSHMI
BHARATHI
 INTRODUCTION
• Drugs that can be purchased without a prescription are referred to
as over-the-counter (OTC) drugs.

• Common OTC medicines include pain relievers, laxatives, cold-

"relieving" preparations and antacids.

• One must be careful while using OTC drugs in children & pregnant
mothers.

• Nowadays, many homeopathic and ayurvedic medicines are also

available over the counter as well. Yet they are not completely safe.

• The phrase 'Over The Counter' and its abbreviation 'OTC' preparations
have no legal recognition in India and are better referred to as 'non-
prescription drugs‘. All non ‘schedule X & schedule H ‘ drugs are
considered non-prescription drugs in India.
.
 RATIONALE
• OTC drugs are consumed rather indiscriminately by
millions of people worldwide.

• So blurred is the boundary between prescription and

OTC categories in India that prescription drugs are
routinely sold over the counter by greedy
pharmacists.

• Should the authorities continue to turn a blind eye to

OTC sales of prescription drugs, ‘safe’ medicines will
continue to be rendered ‘unsafe’.
 STUDY QUESTION

• Will a survey help in evaluating the knowledge,

attitude and practice of over the counter drugs
usage among 100 people in HUDCO colony,
Peelamedu, coimbatore?
 REVIEW OF LITERATURE
• Deshpande SG and Tiwari R, Self medication--a growing concern

31% persons practiced self medication.

more common among males and among those in the 30-50 yr age groups.
Fever, cough, boils and acidity were the common complaints.
analgesics and antipyretics, tonics and antibiotics
Most information from friends or neighbours or chemist.

•Abahussain E et al Self-reported medication use among adolescents in Kuwait

prevalence of self-medication among the high school students was 92%.

pain relief, respiratory conditions, allergic & dermatological conditions
The most common sources of information on medicines were parents.
 METHODOLOGY

STUDY AREA: HUDCO colony, Peelamedu TIME LINE CHART

STUDY POPULATION: 100 ppl age > 16.

Report preparation
Analysis
STUDY DESIGN: Cross sectional study. Data entry
Survey
Q modification
SAMPLING: Purposive sampling Pilot study
Q preparation
Review of literature
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: SPSS v10
0 2 4 6 8
MONTHS
.
 RESULTS
OTC PREVALENCE

Ever used Frequency EVER USED OTC DRUGS

Yes, Always 5 12% 5%

Yes, sometimes 83
No 12 83%

Total 100 Yes, Always Yes, sometimes No

88% of the people surveyed have used ‘Over The Counter’ drugs.
 COMMON AILMENTS

AILMENT FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE COMMON AILMENTS FOR WHICH

OTC DRUGS ARE USED
Fever 71 80.68
fever
Cough ,cold, sore throat 64 72.72 80
71 71
70 cough,cold,sorethr
Headache 71 80.68 64 oat
60 headache
Indigestion 28 31.81
50
indigestion
Vomiting/Diarrhoea 6 6.81 40
vomit/diarr
30 28
Joint pain 6 6.81
joint pain
20
Dental pain 11 12.5 11
10 6 6 dental pain
5
Others 5 5.68 0 others[insomnia,sk
Frequency
in allergy]

Fever, cough, cold, sore throat, head ache, indigestion are

the common ailments for which OTC drugs are used.
 COMMON DRUGS

MEDICINES FREQUENGY PERCENTAGE

COMMON DRUGS BOUGHT OTC
Antipyretic 77 87.5
80 77 Antipyretics
Painkiller 64 72.72
70 64 Painkillers
Antibiotics 6 6.81
60 Antibiotics
Antidiarrhoeal 5 5.68
50 Antidiarrhoel
Laxative 3 3.40 Laxatives
40
Coughsyrup 3 3.40 Coughsyrup
30
Antihistamines 3 3.40 20 Antihistamines
Antiemetics 1 1.13 10 6 5 3 3 3 Antiemetics
1 1 1 Multivitamin
Multivitamin 1 1.13 0
FREQUENCY Sleeping pills
Sleeping pill 1 1.13

Antipyretics, painkillers & antibiotics are the most common drugs

bought over the counter.
 SOURCE OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT REASON FOR OTC DRUG USAGE
OTC DRUGS

70 61.36
51
60 41
60
50 40
10 11
40 32.95
29.54 20 5
30
0
20 11.36 frequency
10
0 not worth going to Dr easy access
1
Friends / Relatives Advertisements Dr cost nothing wrong
Medical shop Old prescription emergency

FACTORS CHECKED WHEN BUYING KNOWLEDGE ON OTC DRUGS WHILE BUYING

76 76 35
33
35
76
30
75
74 73 25 dosage
73 20 frequency/duration
15 12 side effects
72
71 10 7 interaction
PERCENTAGE 5
0
expiry date name of medicine package PERCENTAGE
 SUMMARY OF OUR FINDINGS

•88% of the people surveyed have used ‘Over The Counter ‘drugs.

•61.36% of the OTC drug users use old prescriptions

•37% of the OTC drug users use OTC drugs in children

•55% of the women OTC drug users have used OTC drugs during
pregnancy.
 SUMMARY OF OUR FINDINGS

•35% & 33% of the OTC drug users are aware of the dosage and
frequency/duration respectively of the drugs they take.

•86.36% of the OTC drug users check for expiry date while buying &taking
drugs.

•12.5% of the OTC users have suffered from side effects .Vomiting ,skin
allergy ,stomach upset are the common side effects
 SUMMARY OF OUR FINDINGS

• Fever, cough, cold, sore throat, head ache, indigestion are the
common ailments

• Antipyretics, painkillers & antibiotics are the most common drugs

bought over the counter.

• 13.63% of the OTC users are not aware of the name of the medicines
they buy.
 RECOMMENDATION

• Create awareness among the consumers about the adverse

consequences of self-medication

• Create awareness among the Chemists and Druggists about the

adverse consequences of self- medication

• Laws should me made sufficiently stringent for the chemists to

adhere to the law in terms of sale of prescription drugs without
prescription

LIMITATION

• We have only assessed the KAP regarding OTC drug usage among
people of HUDCO colony. In the future projects health education will
help to bring about change in their practice of OTC drug usage.