Behavioral preventive measures and the use of medicines and herbal products among the public in response to Covid-19 in Bangladesh: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

The present study was conducted to assess the behavioral preventive measures and the use of medicines and herbal foods/products among the public in response to Covid-19. A cross-sectional survey comprised of 1222 participants was conducted from 27 June to 20 July 2020. Kruskal-Wallis test was used to identify the differences in behavioral preventive practices across different demographic categories. To identify the factors associated with the use of preventive medicines and herbal foods/products, multivariable logistic regression was performed. Most participants adopted the recommended preventive practices such as washing hands more frequently (87.5%), staying home more often (85.5%), avoiding crowds (86%), and wearing masks (91.6%). About half of the smokers reported a decreased rate of smoking during the pandemic. Also, 14.8% took medicines, 57.6% took herbal foods/products, and 11.2% took both medicines and herbal foods/products as preventive measure against Covid-19. Arsenicum album, vitamin supplements, and zinc supplements were the most commonly used preventive medicines. Gender, age, and fear of Covid-19 were significantly associated with the use of both preventive medicines and herbal foods/products. For the management of Covid-19 related symptoms, paracetamol, antihistamines, antibiotics, and mineral (zinc and calcium) supplements were used most often. Most participants sought information from non-medical sources while using medicines and herbal products. Moreover, potentially inappropriate and unnecessary use of certain drugs was identified.

Use of Antimicrobials among Suspected COVID-19 Patients at Selected Hospitals, Bangladesh: Findings from the First Wave of COVID-19 Pandemic

“…People in Bangladesh, regardless of socio-economic status and education, took over-the-counter medicines and even antibiotics without consulting any qualified healthcare providers [ 41 , 42 ]. This practice of self-medication increased up to 88% during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 30 , 31 ]. Taking medicine without performing a COVID-19 test for symptoms, such as fever, sore throat, or cough, was found to be common; ivermectin (77%) and azithromycin (54%) were the most frequently used self-medicated drugs in Bangladesh during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 30 ].…”

“…It became a barrier for testing and healthcare-seeking for people having symptoms [ 28 , 29 ]. To get rid of this illness, people with suspected COVID-19 took self-medication without performing any test [ 30 , 31 ]. These existing situations raised the concern for the overuse of antibiotics in the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

Immune Fitness and the Psychosocial and Health Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown in The Netherlands: Methodology and Design of the CLOFIT Study

“…These negative effects can however be reduced by having an optimistic personality and being mentally resilient [ 32 ], and being active [ 30 , 31 ], illustrated by the negative feedback arrow in Figure 3 . The negative mood and stress have a bi-directional relationship (as indicated by the arrow in the figure), and it is hypothesized that, together with fear of COVID-19, they may result in increased alcohol consumption [ 27 ], pain catastrophizing [ 29 ], and medication use [ 33 ]. These factors subsequently are thought to a have negative impact on (perceived) immune fitness [ 22 ] and the presence and severity of COVID-19 related symptoms [ 25 ].…”

COVID-19 recovery measures and use of medications among COVID-19 patients at home: A cross- sectional study in Bangladesh

“…Clinical trials conducted in different countries including Bangladesh showed that ivermectin without and with the combination of other drugs can improve symptoms and reduce mortality, though more evidence is needed on its e cacy [40,41]. One study found that a signi cant number of Bangladeshi populations used ivermectin to relieve COVID-19 symptoms and prophylaxis [42]. Corticosteroids and antiviral drugs were the least consuming medicine among our participants.…”