ANALYSIS OF THE MAIN CLASSES OF DRUGS USED BY PERSONS IN PEDIATRIC SELF-MEDICATION

Abstract

The motivation of pediatric self-medication by guardians, as a solution to signs and symptoms, aiming at not needing to seek care at health services, as they are often not aware of the consequences that this practice can have on the child's health, even clinical masking of possible illnesses. The objective of this study is to understand the predominant drugs in pediatric self-medication by their guardians, presenting the prevalent pharmacological classes, the possible drug interactions and adverse reactions of the practice, justify the socioeconomic impact and confirm how pharmaceutical professionals are fundamentally important in the prevention of pediatric self-medication. This is a qualitative narrative review of the literature. The literature search resulted in a total of 118 articles. Of these, 45 were excluded for presenting duplicate searches, leaving 73 studies, of which 59 were excluded for not meeting the inclusion criteria, leaving 14 articles that addressed the predominant drugs in pediatric self-medication by their guardians, the prevalent pharmacological classes, the possible drug interactions and adverse reactions from practice, the socioeconomic impact and the importance of pharmacists in preventing pediatric self-medication. This study made it possible to demonstrate the prevalence of children using self-medication, as well as the lack of knowledge of the inherent risks and a common practice carried out mainly by women for the following reasons: ease of access to medicines in drugstores, difficulty in receiving medical care from health professionals and socioeconomic vulnerability.