Abstract
Background and Aim: Use of over the counter (OTC) medications in children is a common practice by parents in developing countries. Specific doses for OTC medications are required, according to a child’s age and weight. Parents’ awareness about the risk of OTC is essential, and it needs to be raised to minimize OTC risk. This study aims to explore Saudi parents’ knowledge, attitude and practice toward self- medicating their children.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among Saudi parents aged 18–50 years, for over a period of 3 months, from May 2018 to August 2018. The total Saudi parents participated in this study 481 from multiple cities in Qassim region, Saudi Arabia.

Results: Synthetic medicines were predominantly administered by the parents to their children (86.1%), meanwhile 29.3% of the participants self-medicated their children more than four times a year. The most common symptoms for taking OTC medication were fever (64.7%), and flu (50.3%). With respect to parents’ actions, in cases where the child did not improve with self-medication, 59.3 % of them attended a hospital. The primary sources of medicine were administered by the hospital (48.6%), and pharmacy (27.4%), with paracetamol being the most frequently used (82.5%). Top sources of information regarding medication for the parents were the doctor (81.6%), pharmacist (45.9%) and internet (26.4%).

Conclusions: There is generous use for OTC medication for children by their parents in Qassim region, Saudi Arabia. Most of the respondents were educated but their knowledge about OTC is insufficient.

Key words: Knowledge, Saudi, Medicine, Parents, Children