The Survey of Knowledge about OTC Drugs among Pharmacy Background and Non-Pharmacy Community

Over the counter (OTC) medicines are the drugs that can be sold without the prescription of a registered medical practitioner to the consumer. In India, over the counter medicines includes analgesics, nutrients, cough and cold and Ayurveda preparations. Unregulated or unrestricted availability of OTC drugs in the market increases the risk of drug resistance adverse drug reaction and drug interactions. OTC medicines are used as self-medication by students for conditions like fever, pain and cold. Awareness regarding OTC drugs will help to lead better medical practices and will prevent any untoward medical occurrence. This paper assesses the knowledge, attitude, practices regarding over the counter medications among Pharmacy background students and common non- Pharma people. Pre-validated questionnaire was used after obtaining informed consent. Analysis was done using MS Excel office. Analgesics, anti-pyretic, Anti- allergic drugs were the most commonly used OTC drugs for cough, common cold and fever by the people. Most of the Pharmacy background students were aware about over the counter medicines but their knowledge regarding OTC medications was poor. The present studies indicate that over the counter drugs are widely practiced, therefore it is necessary to create awareness and educate people regarding advantages and disadvantages of self-medication. Hence, our study appreciates the need of conducting survey based studies with the objective of evaluating the knowledge, attitude and practices of self-medication involving wider section of medical professions.