A Questionnaire Based Assessment of Skin Bleaching Practice Among Female Medical Students in A Tertiary Care Institute: A Cross Sectional Study

Abstract Introduction: Skin bleaching involves the application of chemicals such as ammonia, hydrogen peroxide, and hypochlorite, either in salons or at home, with repeated treatments over time. Skin bleaching products often contain hazardous ingredients that can lead to adverse outcomes, including rashes, dryness, sunburns, and more severe long-term effects such as DNA damage and increased vulnerability to skin cancers. Despite these effects there is a scarcity of medical research and literature focused on their misuse. (1) Aims and objectives 1. To estimate the prevalence of ‘skin bleaching’ among female medical students. 2. To assess the pattern of practices regarding ‘skin bleaching’ in female medical students. Materials & Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 103 female medical students in a tertiary care medical college in Mangalore, using a preformed digital questionnaire. It included socio-demographic questionnaire, and questions related to use of bleaching agents, pattern of use, and side effect following use. Ethical committee clearance was obtained prior to the study. Results: The most common bleaching products used were cream bleach (35.3%), oxybleach (17.6%), milk bleach (11.8%), or powder bleach (5.9%). Post procedure protective measures like moisturizer, sunscreen, avoiding sunlight and soaps (88.2%) were practiced by majority of cases. While, 70.6% didn’t have any side effects, rashes (23.6%), burning sensation (11.8%), dryness (11.8%), and darkening on exposure to sunlight (5.9%) were the most common complains noted. Conclusion: Around one sixth of female medical students used bleaching products at some time of life. While majority of participants used occasionally, around half of them did the procedure in salon, and post-procedural protective measures were carried in most cases. Despite that, around one-fourth of the participants complained of some degree of side effects. Awareness of potential risks and effects of skin bleaching remains limited, even among well-educated youth and medical students.