Self-Medication for oral health problems in COVID-19 outbreak: Prevalence and associated factors

Automedicación para enfermedades orales durante la pandemia del COVID-19: prevalencia y factores asociados

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate self-medication in the COVID-19 outbreak among patients attending the dental clinic of Zanjan University of Medical Sciences. The total number of patients who took part in this research was 306, and they were questioned using a 28-item questionnaire after signing a permission form. SPSS26 was used to gather and analyze the data. There were 196 women and 110 males among the patients.The results showed that the prevalence of self-medication was 53.9%, and a lower educational level was associated with self-medication. The most common problem for self-medicating was toothache, and the most frequent drug was Ibuprofen. The majority of the participants reported that their relatives/friends suggested the drugs to them. The main source of obtaining the drugs was pharmacies. The major reasons for self-medication were the high cost of dental treatments and fear of COVID-19.

Keywords Self-medication; Oral health; COVID-19

Variable	Character	Frequency (n=306)	P-value
Age	18-70	Mean: 34.9	0.192
Gender	Male	110 (35.9%)	0.687
-	Female	196 (64.1%)	-
Marital Status	Single	93 (30.4%)	0.433
-	Married	213 (69.6%)	-
Education	Less thanDiploma	68 (22.2%)	0.022*
-	Diploma	122 (39.9%)	-
-	Bachelor	81 (26.5%)	-
-	Master	27 (8.8%)	-
-	Doctorate	8 (2.6%)	-
Occupation	Unemployed	132 (43.1%)	0.431
-	Employee	46 (15%)	-
-	Freelance	92 (30.1%)	-
-	Student	36 (11.8%)	-
Monthly Family Income	<20 M Rial (<474$)	51 (16.7%)	0.873
-	20-50 M Rial (474$-1185$)	154 (50.3%)	-
-	>50 M Rial (1185$)	101 (33%)	-
Residence	Rural	22 (7.2%)	0.951
-	Urban	284 (92.8%)	-
Systemic Disease	Yes	51 (16.7%)	0.281
-	No	255 (83.3)	-

Variable	Response	Frequency	P-Value
Visit Dentist in COVID	Yes	192 (62.7%)	0.000*
-	No	114 (37.3%)	-
Likelihood of Self-Medication within next 6 month	Very Likely	30 (9.8%)	0.000*
-	Likely	97 (31.7%)	-
-	Not Sure	24 (7.8%)	-
-	Unlikely	81 (26.5%)	-
-	Very Unlikely	74 (24.2%)	-
Suggest Drugs to Family/ Friends	Yes	83 (27.1%)	0.062
-	No	223 (72.9%)	-
COVID-19 Infection	Participant	83 (27.1%)	0.748
-	Participant's Family	160 (52.3%)	0.770

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None Ciudad Universitaria Rodrigo Facio, San Pedro, San José, San José, CR, 2060, 2511-8102, 2234-9207 - E-mail: odontos.fo@ucr.ac.cr

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Type of medication used	Ibuprofen	88 (23.6%)
-	Acetaminophen	40 (10.7%)
-	Novafen	10 (2.7%)
-	Mefenamic acid	7 (1.9%)
-	Amoxicillin	66 (17.7%)
-	Metronidazole	11 (2.9%)
-	Penicillin	1 (0.3%)
-	Salt and water mouthwash	78 (20.9%)
-	Others (herbs, garlic, onion, honey, lime juice, local analgesics, local salt, lidocaine, Dentol)	72 (19.3%)
Source of advice	Pharmacist	8 (4.5%)
-	Relatives/Friends	70 (39.1%)
-	Previous successful experience	62 (34.6%)
-	Personal knowledge	26 (14.5%)
-	Internet	12 (6.7%)
-	Herbalist	1 (0.6%)
Source of medicine	Pharmacy	79 (45.1%)
-	Relatives/Friends	5 (2.9%)
-	Leftovers of previous prescriptions	78 (44.6%)
-	Herbal store	13 (7.4%)
Reasons for self-medication	Minor symptoms	40 (18.1%)
-	Dentist not available	22 (10%)
-	Long waiting list at dental clinics	8 (3.6%)
-	Lack of insurance	4 (1.8%)
-	Lack of money	58 (26.2%)
-	Lack of time	40 (18.1%)
-	Fear of dentist	4 (1.8%)
-	Fear of COVID-19 infection	45 (20.4%)
Oral problems triggering self-medication	Toothache	154 (86.5%)
-	Gingival bleeding	7 (3.9%)
-	Halitosis	1 (0.6%)
-	Gingival enlargement	4 (2.2%)
-	Oral lesions (abscess, aphtus)	10 (5.6%)
-	Others	2 (1.1%)
Result of self-medication	Symptom recovery	154 (93.3%)
-	No changes	11 (6.7%)
Awareness about self-mediation damages	Not dangerous	69 (13.2%)
-	Worsening of current illness	59 (11.3%)
-	Damaging body organs	135 (25.9%)
-	Brain damage	23 (4.4%)
-	Worsening of systemic disease	43 (8.2%)
-	Addiction	56 (10.7%)
-	Drug resistance	70 (13.4%)
-	Poisoning	59 (11.3%)
-	Death	8 (1.5%)
Source of information about damages	School/College	28 (7.9%)
-	Hospital	7 (2%)
-	Dentist	19 (5.3%)
-	Pharmacist	4 (1.1%)
-	Friends/Relatives	51 (14.3%)
-	Advertisement/Brochures	71 (19.9%)
-	Internet	55 (15.4%)
-	No source	121 (34%)