Knowledge and Prevalence regarding use of Over the Counter Drugs (OTC) Drugs to Overcome Dysmenorrhea among Undergraduate Girls

Primary dysmenorrhea is an idiopathic condition thought to be related to the release of inflammatory mediators that are associated with uterine vasoconstriction and pain during menstruation. Dysmenorrhea is generally treatable with analgesics including NSAID's, acetaminophen, antispasmodics etc. Nowadays women use over the counter (OTC) medication frequently for the management of dysmenorrhea. This study was aimed to assess the prevalence and knowledge about the use of OTC drugs to overcome dysmenorrhea among undergraduate student girls. Quantitative study approach was selected and the research design was non experimental descriptive study. Non probability purposive sampling was used to select hundred under graduate girls from selected colleges within the age group of 18-21 years as samples. A self prepared questionnaire with 38 questions was used to collect the data and collected data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Among total 100 samples, Seventy nine samples experienced dysmenorrhea and out that 32 uses drug. Among 32, nine were using OTC drugs. Among the 100 samples, none of them had good knowledge, 55% had moderate knowledge and 45% were poor in knowledge about the use of OTC medications. There was a significant association between knowledge level and age of menarche at the level of significance 0.05.