Volume 25, Issue 115, September 2021

The misuse of topical creams among females in Saudi Arabia 2020

Walid A Alghamdi¹, Nouf A Khalifah², Hotoon S Alshammari², Fatimah A Althamin², Batool A Althamin², Haneen H Alsultan²

¹Assistant Professor – Consultant Dermatologist, Security Forces Hospital, Riyadh, KSA
²Medical Student, College of Medicine, Almaarefa University, Riyadh, KSA

ABSTRACT

Background: Topical creams (TC) are agents used for the skin to treat many problems such as; wrinkles, acne, blemishes and much more. They are used commonly worldwide mostly among females but there are a few studies that concentrated on the severity of overusing or misusing these agents. Objective: This study aimed to measure the knowledge of females towards the usage of topical creams. Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was distributed among females in Saudi Arabia. The data were collected using Google forms and all statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 21. Results: The most commonly misused TC was intended for acne (69.7%). More than one third (34.7%), bought TC due to the influence of social media. The knowledge of women regarding side effects and contraindications were found among 65.7%. Conclusion: Although there was a moderate knowledge regarding the side effects and contraindications of TC however, the misuse of topical facial cream and the influence of social media in buying TC were evidently clear in this study. Women who were using TC for the treatment of acne had better outlook than the others.

Keywords: Topical cream, misuse, females, side effects, Saudi Arabia

Medical Science, 2021, 25(115), 2203-2212

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