A STUDY ON KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE OF SELF-MEDICATION FOR DIARRHEA AMONG UNDERGRADUATE MEDICAL STUDENTS IN A TERTIARY CARE TEACHING HOSPITAL

Background: Most of the diarrhea is self- limiting. Mainstay of treatment is supportive in form of ORS, with careful monitoring for any signs of dehydration. Self-medication practices are common in medical students with 50-70% range reported in various studies. Medical students are have easy access to both ORS and antibiotics. Current study was undertaken to understand the practice of antidiarrheal drugs among MBBS students in our setup. A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted among 100 undergraduat Methods: e medical students in OctoberNovember 2021 in P.D.U. Medical College, Rajkot, Gujarat. Total 100 students participated in the stu Result: dy in which 59% males and 41% females were included. 49% students were practicing self-medication. Text books were the major source of information about drugs followed by internet. Commonly chosen therapy for diarrhea was ORS (54%) followed by metronidazole (19%) followed by loperamide (11%) and Fluoroquinolones (10%). 37% students use antibiotics without prescription and 44% of students do not complete the course. Our Conclusion: study observed self-medication is commonly practiced among medical students. Purpose behind self-medication is to save the time. Educating these medical students regarding the advantages and disadvantages of self-medication as well as antibiotics resistance is necessary to create awareness among them.