The coronavirus vaccine was developed to help overcome the COVID‐19 crisis. This study aimed to identify the cutaneous side effects secondary to Pfizer‐BioNTech and Oxford‐AstraZeneca COVID‐19 vaccines in the general population of Saudi Arabia and to list the risk factors for the development of cutaneous side effects. This cross‐sectional study was conducted in 2021, self‐administered surveys were distributed electronically through social media, and telephonic interviews were conducted with a sample size of 1000 participants. Data analysis was performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. A total of 1021 patients (229 male and 722 female) aged 12 years or older were included. While 833 participants were medically free, 188 had chronic illnesses. While 802 participants were not taking any medications, 219 were taking medications regularly. Oxford‐Astra Zeneca and Pfizer BioNTech vaccines were administered to 319 and 702 participants, respectively. One‐hundred and twenty‐five participants previously had COVID‐19 infection and 407 were exposed to a PCR positive case of COVID. Six hundred and fifty‐nine patients (64.5%) reported experiencing injection site reactions: 606 (59.4%) had injection site pain, 168 (16.5%) had injection site swelling, and 107 (10.5%) had injection site redness. Only 51 patients (5%) experienced cutaneous side effects after injection. A significant association was found between chronic illnesses and cutaneous side effects post‐vaccine (9% vs. 4.1%; p value = 0.005). Patients on medications showed a higher rate of symptoms (8.2% vs. 4.1%; p value = 0.005). Age, gender, vaccine types, and history of COVID‐19 infection were not significantly associated with cutaneous side effects post‐vaccine.

Purpose Self-medication is the selection and use of drugs by individuals to treat self-diagnosed diseases or symptoms. While some patients regard self-medicating as harmless, it is far from being a safe practice. The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward self-medicating eye symptoms in Saudi Arabia. Patients and Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted through an online questionnaire on a study population that consisted of Saudi nationals aged 18 and older who were using or had previously used ophthalmic medications. Results Among the 524 responses obtained, 79.4% were female, and more than half were less than 40 years old. Participants admitting to practicing ophthalmic self-medication measured 62.4%. The most commonly self-prescribed ophthalmic medications were artificial tears (n=276), followed by antiallergic (n=57) and antibiotic medications (n=33). Many participants reported that the reason for self-treatment was for repeated and simple symptoms that did not require professional care. While approximately 51% showed high levels of knowledge about ophthalmic medications, no significant relationship was seen with their choice to self-medicate (P=0.153). Conclusion Despite detecting a high level of knowledge and acceptable practices and attitudes among participants, a high incidence of self-medication was observed. This effect was mostly attributed to long hospital waiting times and patient self-diagnosis. Increasing the number of healthcare units and properly educating patients on ophthalmic medications may help decrease the incidence of self-medication.