Analysis of the Use of Over-the-Counter Therapy for the Prevention and Treatment of COVID-19

DOI record: { "DOI": "10.3390/medicina61050803", "ISSN": [ "1648-9144" ], "URL": "http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/medicina61050803", "abstract": "<jats:p>Background and Objectives: Self-medication includes the use of drugs or herbal preparations based on one’s own discretion or the recommendation of another person, often a family member, friend, neighbor, or even a pharmacist, without prior examination and consultation with a doctor. The goal of this study was to determine respondents’ reasons for using self-medication, determine the frequency of self-medication, and analyze differences in respondents’ attitudes about self-medication in relation to several factors. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted as a cross-sectional observational study. The respondents were patients seeking medical examination at the Health Center in Jagodina who had used over-the-counter medications during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 175 respondents participated in the study. The study design provided answers to questions about the respondents’ self-medication habits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: More than half of the respondents (53.71%) bought medicines without a prescription, with most cases involving analgesics (52.83%). Almost three-quarters of the respondents were completely vaccinated (74.29%) against COVID-19. Additionally, 39.62% of participants used vitamins as part of their self-medication during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the vitamins, respondents most commonly used a combination of vitamins C and D (20.75%), vitamin D (5.66%), vitamin C (5.66%), and vitamin A (1.89%). Conclusions: Self-medication for the treatment of coronavirus is more often used by younger respondents, who are not yet married, do not have their own income, and rarely visit a doctor. As for supplements, respondents used zinc, and as for vitamins, respondents mostly used a combination of vitamins C and D.</jats:p>", "alternative-id": [ "medicina61050803" ], "author": [ { "ORCID": "https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8150-0730", "affiliation": [ { "name": "Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia" } ], "authenticated-orcid": false, "family": "Vukosavljević", "given": "Ivan", "sequence": "first" }, { "affiliation": [ { "name": "Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia" } ], "family": "Djorić", "given": "Nataša", "sequence": "additional" }, { "ORCID": "https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5000-3774", "affiliation": [ { "name": "Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia" } ], "authenticated-orcid": false, "family": "Vukosavljević", "given": "Ivana", "sequence": "additional" }, { "affiliation": [ { "name": "Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia" } ], "family": "Milovanović", "given": "Jasmina", "sequence": "additional" }, { "affiliation": [ { "name": "Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia" }, { "name": "Clinic of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Serbia University Clinical Center of Kragujevac, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia" }, { "name": "Center for Research on Harmful Effects of Biological and Chemical Hazards, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia" } ], "family": "Zdravković", "given": "Nataša", "sequence": "additional" }, { "affiliation": [ { "name": "Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia" } ], "family": "Djordjević", "given": "Katarina", "sequence": "additional" }, { "affiliation": [ { "name": "Center for Research on Harmful Effects of Biological and Chemical Hazards, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia" }, { "name": "Department of Biomedical Statistics and Informatics, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia" } ], "family": "Zdravković", "given": "Nebojša", "sequence": "additional" }, { "affiliation": [ { "name": "Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia" }, { "name": "Center for Research on Harmful Effects of Biological and Chemical Hazards, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia" } ], "family": "Kostić", "given": "Marina", "sequence": "additional" }, { "affiliation": [ { "name": "Pharmacy Department, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia" } ], "family": "Barjaktarević", "given": "Ana", "sequence": "additional" }, { "affiliation": [ { "name": "Pharmacy Department, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia" } ], "family": "Cupara", "given": "Snezana", "sequence": "additional" }, { "ORCID": "https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8407-1521", "affiliation": [ { "name": "Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia" }, { "name": "Center for Research on Harmful Effects of Biological and Chemical Hazards, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia" } ], "authenticated-orcid": false, "family": "Čekerevac", "given": "Ivan", "sequence": "additional" }, { "affiliation": [ { "name": "Faculty of Hotel Management and Tourism, University of Kragujevac, 36210 Vrnjačka Banja, Serbia" } ], "family": "Vasović", "given": "Nevena", "sequence": "additional" }, { "ORCID": "https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1895-7519", "affiliation": [ { "name": "Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia" }, { "name": "Clinic for Rheumatology and Allergology, University Clinical Center Kragujevac, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia" } ], "authenticated-orcid": false, "family": "Tomić Lučić", "given": "Aleksandra", "sequence": "additional" }, { "affiliation": [ { "name": "Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia" }, { "name": "Department of Biomedically Assisted Fertilization, Clinic of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Clinical Center Kragujevac, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia" } ], "family": "Šorak", "given": "Marija", "sequence": "additional" }, { "ORCID": "https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1573-1191", "affiliation": [ { "name": "Vascular Surgery Center, University Clinical Center Kragujevac, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia" }, { "name": "Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medical Science, University of Kragujevac, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia" } ], "authenticated-orcid": false, "family": "Mirković", "given": "Nikola", "sequence": "additional" }, { "affiliation": [ { "name": "Center for Research on Harmful Effects of Biological and Chemical Hazards, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia" }, { "name": "Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia" } ], "family": "Kostić", "given": "Olivera", "sequence": "additional" } ], "container-title": "Medicina", "container-title-short": "Medicina", "content-domain": { "crossmark-restriction": false, "domain": [] }, "created": { "date-parts": [ [ 2025, 5, 5 ] ], "date-time": "2025-05-05T00:42:37Z", "timestamp": 1746405757000 }, "deposited": { "date-parts": [ [ 2025, 5, 5 ] ], "date-time": "2025-05-05T01:34:34Z", "timestamp": 1746408874000 }, "funder": [ { "award": [ "451-03-137/2025-03/200111" ], "name": "Faculty of Medical Sciences at the University of Kragujevac, Republic of Serbia and Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac" } ], "indexed": { "date-parts": [ [ 2025, 5, 5 ] ], "date-time": 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