Over the counter drugs and self-medication: A worldwide paranoia and a troublesome situation in India during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abstract

Self-medication is the use of drugs to treat self-diagnosed ailments without the use of a formal prescription. Self-medication is defined by the World Health Organization as the use of medications to address self-diagnosed diseases or symptoms. Over-the-counter (OTC) pharmaceuticals are medications that can be sold without a prescription directly to the client in accordance with the laws of each nation. During the COVID-19 pandemic, an increasing tendency in the use of OTC and self-medication was seen, with the situation in India particularly deteriorating due to lax regulatory restrictions. This has resulted in a slew of problems, ranging from a lack of drugs to severe responses due to overdosage and drug-drug combinations. There is an urgent need for more tangible regulatory control over self-medication and OTC medications to safeguard the uninformed populace from harm.

• Authors: Ishita Ray, Mainak Bardhan, Mohammad Mehedi Hasan, Abdul Moiz Sahito, Erum Khan, Suyog Patel, Ishan Jani, Parjanya Keyurbhai Bhatt, Rohini Sp, Sarya Swed
• Journal: Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) (Ann Med Surg (Lond)) Vol. 78 Pg. 103797 (Jun 2022) ISSN: 2049-0801 [Print] England
• PMID: 35637885 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: © 2022 The Authors.