Assess the Prevalence of Self-Medication among Individuals in a Selected Community at Thoothukudi

Self-Medication is harmful to one`s health and is widespread in the country. To reduce the practice of self-medication, people should get sufficient health education. The study was undertaken by the investigator to assess the prevalence of self-medication among individuals in a selected community at Thoothukudi. The samples were selected by purposive sampling method. The sample size was 65 and they were selected based on inclusion criteria. A checklist was used to determine the prevalence of self-medication.The study findings revealed that among 65 samples 69% of samples reported engaging in self-medication, 44% of samples were taking selfmedication for fever and cough, 56% were for cold, 33% were for knee pain, 47% for head ache, 33%for abdominal pain and 29% were for diarrhea.73%were commonly taking Tab.Paracetamol as self-medication, 42% were taking cough syrup, 9% Anti histamine and antibiotics and 16% were taking Tab.Pantoprazole as self-medication.While self-medication may offer short-term relief, the potential long-term risks make it a serious public health issue.Implementing comprehensive health education initiatives is essential to reduce this practice and ensure safer health practices in the community.