SELF-MEDICATION IN COLLEGE STUDENTS: A REVIEW

Abstract

This study aimed to obtain an overview of the self-medication scenario among university students in the health field in Brazil. This study was configured as a systematic literature review with a qualitative approach and descriptive nature about self-medication in university students between the years 2018 and 2023. The databases used in this study were the Latin American Literature in Health Sciences (LILACS), Scientific Electronic Library Online (SCIELO), Medline and BDENF. The first stage of the search identified 322 studies (Medline: 193, Lilacs: 83, Scielo: 25, Bdenf: 21). After reading the titles and abstracts, 296 were excluded, the remaining 26 were analyzed in full and after that, 18 were excluded, leaving 8 articles that were part of this study. All selected studies showed high percentages of self-medication, ranging from 72.3% to 99.2%. Pain relief, practicality, convenience and easy access to pharmacies are motivators for the practice of self-medication. The symptoms most related to self-medication were pain, mainly headache, throat, muscle pain and menstrual cramps, as well as fever, colds, allergies, inflammation and urinary tract infections. The most commonly used medications were analgesics/antipyretics, anti-inflammatories, antihistamines, antacids, flu medications, muscle relaxants and antibiotics. The consequences presented by academics who practiced self-medication were: masking the disease that caused the symptom, adverse reactions, microbial resistance, intoxication, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, cardiorespiratory symptoms, increase in existing symptoms and cutaneous manifestations. Finally, we believe in the importance of including the topic of self-medication in the curriculum in order to strengthen these academics' awareness of the subject so that they stop being victims and become agents in reducing self-medication in the population.