Cross-sectional descriptive study of topical self-medication in a hospital dermatology department in the state of São Paulo.

Self-medication involves individuals or their carers administering a medical drug of their own choice for symptomatic relief and in the hope of a "cure", without seeking professional medical advice.The aim of this descriptive cross-sectional study conducted at the Dermatology Department of the Taubaté University Hospital was to identify the occurrence of self-medication for the topical treatment of skin diseases in young people under 18, and to analyze the difficulties encountered in the clinical diagnosis of these individuals.We examined 29 cases of self-medication (from a total of 480 attendances). Although self-medication is a common practice in Brazil our study showed that users were not significantly harmed by it.