SUPPLEMENTAL MEDICINES-NUTRITIONS USED BY HEALTH PERSONNEL IN THEIR OWN COVID-19 TREATMENT SCHEDULE

Abstract

Purpose: In this study, with a view to investigating drug use behaviors of healthcare personnel who had Covid-19 infection in the first 1 year of the pandemic, it was aimed to determine the additional drugs and nutritional supplements they used in their own treatment.Material and Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study. The data were obtained through an online survey voluntarily completed under pandemic conditions by doctors, dentists, nurses, pharmacists, and other health personnel who declared that they had Covid-19.Results: The study consisted of 405 individuals. 98% of healthcare personnels preferred to support their treatment. The medicines and herbal products that the participants started to use by their own decisions, without the advice of the physician who examined them, and the frequency of their use were vitamin C 53.3%, vitamin D 48.1%, acetylsalicylic acid 26.7%, paracetamol 23%, zinc 26.4%, multivitamin 19%, acetylcysteine 14.8%, famotidine 14.3%, subcutaneous heparin 12.6%. As for herbal products, inhaling thyme oil was noted in 11.6%, drinking thyme oil 10.1%, consuming ginger 14.3% of the participants. Non-prescription support products were found to be beneficial in 44.4%.Conclusion: Almost all of the participants took a supplement with the intention to support the treatment. The fact that one out of two participants declared that they benefited from over-the-counter supplements reveals that further studies are needed to support the rational use of over-the-counter products in the treatment of Covid-19.