Background and objectives: Self-medication is a common practice worldwide and medical students are at higher risk of self-medication because of early exposure and access to drugs and related information. The objective of this study was to assess the practice and perceptions of self-medication among medical students.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, data were collected using a questionnaire from undergraduate medical students at the Maharajah’s Institute of Medical Sciences, Vizianagaram, India, during November-December 2019. The subjects were selected via convenience sampling. The data were analyzed using the SPSS (version 21) and chi-square test. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: The prevalence of self-medication among 440 students was found to be 83%. Self-medication was more common among female students (85.8%) as compared to male counterparts (80.9%) (p>0.05). The majority of students (73.4%) cited mild nature of illness as the factor responsible for self-medication. Fever was the most common indication for self-medication accounting for 81.4% cases, and antipyretics was the most commonly (74.8%) used drug category. Moreover, 48.9% of the participants opined that self-medication is part of self-care and needs to be encouraged.
Conclusion: Self-medication is widely practiced among undergraduate medical students. Therefore, there is an urgent need to educate them regarding the dangers of irrational drug use along with the implementation of stringent regulations regarding the sale of drugs without a valid prescription.

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