[Self-treatment among employees of the Swiss railroad and postal systems]

In this paper some initial results of a study of self-treatment in case of light illness are reported. The average number of reported measures taken is 3,5 in general infections and infections of the respiratory tract, 2,6 in digestive disorders, and 2,5 in disorders of the musculo-skeletal system. In all three groups of disorders, the most frequent single measures was bed rest, the second most frequent was measuring body temperature in the first diagnostic group, drinking tea in the second, and massage in the third. In the first diagnostic group, an average of 2,2 pharmacologic agents are taken, in the second 1,1, and in the third 1,3. Analgesic drugs play an important role in all three groups, pointing to the primordial role of pain relief in self-medication. 84,5% of the interviewed sample indicate use of folk medicines. 90% of the applied drugs come from the stock of the home pharmacy.