Self-medication among primary care patients in Farazdak Clinic in Riyadh

Four hundred and thirty new adult patients were interviewed using a questionnaire for their attitudes and practices regarding self-medication. 69% of the patients were males and 40% were Saudis. 58% of the patients attempted self-medication due to the triviality of their symptoms or to save time and money. They used mostly analgesics, vitamins, tonics and oral antibiotics. 41.6% of the patients did not practise self-medication because of lack of information about the drugs or for fear of complications. Self-medication was associated with literacy and morbidity. Literate patients self-medicated significantly more than illiterates. Patients who perceived their symptoms as minor self-medicated significantly more than those who perceived them as major. No association was found between self-medication and age, sex or occupation.