Abstract
Objectives: Acne is one of the most common skin conditions worldwide. Acne self-medication was recognized to be a common practice among medical students. This study was conducted to measure the prevalence of acne self-medication among medical students, to identify the reasons, sources of information, types of medications, and to assess their knowledge, attitudes, practices towards acne self-medication
Methods: The study is a cross-sectional study conducted at College of Medicine, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. A validated questionnaire was sent to medical students in their 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th academic year of medical school.
Results: A total of 249 pre-clinical and clinical years medical students completed the questionnaire. 178 (71.5%) medical students had experienced or were diagnosed with acne, 126 (70.8%) of whom, practiced self-medication to treat acne. Female students practiced self-medication significantly more than male students (P <0.001). The most common reason for self-medication was mildness of acne. Drug advertisement/internet/media was the most common source of information. Allopathic medications were the most common medication type used.
Conclusion: Acne self-medication is highly prevalent among medical students. Self-mediation, when rationally practiced, can be beneficial for minor symptoms. However, irrational practice of self-medication is associated with many drawbacks like drug resistance, polypharmacy, and drug side effects. Medical students’ knowledge towards acne self-medication mandates further awareness to prevent such a harmful practice.

Key words: Acne Vulgaris, Self-medication, Medical students.