Survey on perception for over the counter medicine use without prescription among the general people in the Gazipur, Bangladesh

The use of over-the-counter (OTC) medications is a global phenomenon, particularly among people in general in developing nations. This kind of drug can be used without a prescription. Alarmingly the use of medication without prescriptions among the general people for longer duration is increasing day by day. The study was meant to evaluate the prevalence of non-prescribed medications among people living in the Gazipur city corporation of Bangladesh. From January to March 2023, a cross-sectional survey was carried out in the Gazipur City Corporation (GCC). Data were gathered from patients and non-patients who self-administered medications using a semi-structured questionnaire, and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the results. Total study population were 300, among them 261 were non-prescription medicine user, of which participants were Govt. Job holder (16.8%), garments worker (11.1%), housewife (7.7%) and students (64.3%). Aged between 22 and 45 years, there were 56.3% males and 43.7% females. Mostly used medication groups were Anthelmintic 33% NSAIDs (24%), antacids (8.5%) and antibiotics (17%). The compliance was rated as excellent (13.4%) and good (55.5%). Unexpectedly, the majority of people regularly take anti-gut worm medications because they virtually always develop at the same period in almost everyone. They believe a prescription is not necessary in order to take an anthelmintic medication at any time.