title: Self medication amongst general outpatients in a nigerian community hospital.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study was designed to determine the proportion of general out patients who practice self medication, the drugs employed and the reasons for resorting to self medication.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was conducted between June and December, 2007 at the General Outpatient Clinic of the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria. Two hundred consenting respondents were selected by simple random sampling and interviewed with the aid of semi structured questionnaire by the authors with three assistants. Information regarding their bio-data, history of self medication, drugs used and the reasons for resorting to self medication were obtained.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Majority of the respondents (85%) admitted to self medication while the remaining proportion (15%) did not practice it. Drugs utilized could be single, usually analgesics (26.5%) and anti-malaria (15.9%) or in combinations, usually antimalaria-analgesics (22.4%), antimalariaanalgesic- antibiotic (15.3%) and antibiotic-analgesic (10.0%). The reasons cited by respondents for self medication were their perception of their complaints been minor enough to be amenable to self medication (54.7%) and financial constraint (22.4%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Majority of the respondents practiced self medication using an array of drugs like analgesics, anti-malaria and antibiotics used either singly or in combination. The main reasons identified for self medication were that the ailments were minor and financial constraint.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Federal Medical Centre, Owo, Ondo State.
authors.forename: C O
authors.initials: CO
authors.lastname: Omolase
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Federal Medical Centre, Owo, Ondo State.
authors.forename: O E
authors.initials: OE
authors.lastname: Adeleke
authors.affiliation: Department of Dental Services, Federal Medical Centre, Owo, Ondo State.
authors.forename: A O
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Afolabi
authors.affiliation: Department of Staff Medical Services, Federal Medical Centre, Owo, Ondo State.
authors.forename: O T
authors.initials: OT
authors.lastname: Afolabi
keywords: Nigeria; Self medication; drug misuse