ArticleCureus2023
Ophthalmic Self-Medication Practices and Associated Factors of Using Steroid Eye Drops Among Adult Ophthalmic Patients.
Article in Cureus, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.
- Article
- Global Perspectives on Therapy for Noninfectious Conjunctival Hyperemia: A Narrative Review.Ophthalmology and therapy · 2026Review
- Patterns and prevalence of ophthalmic self-medication in Bulgaria: results from a cross-sectional survey.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Knowledge, attitude, and practices toward conjunctivitis among general population of central Karnataka - A cross-sectional study.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2025Article
- Article
- Prevalence and Predictors of Self-Medication Among Ophthalmic Patients in Jordan: A Cross-Sectional Analysis.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Fungal keratitis after conjunctivitis.Oman journal of ophthalmologyArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSelf-medication is defined as the selection of medicines by individuals to treat self-diagnosed ophthalmic symptoms without consultation of healthcare professionals. Topical steroids can produce severe eye-threatening complications, including the elevation of intraocular pressure (IOP) with possible development of glaucoma and infrequent optic nerve damage. In recent times, many over-the-counter (OTC) ophthalmic preparations are possible without a prescription. There are a lot of concerns about the safety of long-term use of nonprescription ophthalmic drugs, which may lead to a variety of serious ocular complications.
objectiveTo determine the prevalence of self-medication ocular topical steroid practices and associated factors among adult ophthalmic patients attending ophthalmology clinics at King Saud Medical City (KSMC) in Riyadh.
methodsA cross-sectional study targeted adults aged 18 or older who had used topical steroids eye drops. The data were collected through interviews, and an online questionnaire was distributed among patients who attended ophthalmology clinics between December 2022 and February 2023.
resultFrom a total of 308 responses, 92 (29.8%) were using ocular topical, 58 (18.8%) with a prescription, five (1.6%) without a prescription, and 29 (9.4%) with and without a prescription, while 216 (70.1%) did not use it. The frequency of using ocular topical steroids without a prescription among participants was 11 (12%) once and 33 (35%) many times. Additionally, 26 (28.3%) were having complications, mostly eye infections (11, 12.4%), glaucoma (8, 9%), and cataracts (6, 6.7%). The reasons for practicing self-medication of steroid eye drops among participants were 14 (15.2%) repeated symptoms, 11 (15.2%) had heard advice from friends, and 11 (15.2%) think they had enough knowledge.
conclusionThe study reported the use of self-medication with steroids in ophthalmology clinics at KSMC, even though detecting a high level of perception and acceptable practices among participants. This practice is mainly due to participants having repeated symptoms and thinking they have enough knowledge. Educating the patients would help in reducing the incidence of self-medication steroid eye drops and its associated complications.
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