Headache tops common health ailments among urban Indians: Survey

A panIndia survey by Ipsos has revealed that headache is the top common ailment among urban Indians with at least 1 in 2 claiming to be suffering from it Moreover to mitigate the impact of the ailment consumers prefer overthecounter pills over balms The Ipsos Consumer Health Monitor OTC Quotient of Urban India covered 34 cities and 15133 households The survey cited fever body ache common cold and nose block among other top ailments Notably for fever consumers chose doctor visit over selfmedication whereas for headache cough and cold more respondents seemed to selfmedicate and rely on chemists Further gastric conditions were found to be more prevalent among geriatrics Interestingly Eno has emerged the top OTC brand choice for gastric conditions with at least 7 in 10 urban Indians preferring it Zandu Balm was the top choice among balms for headaches says a statement by Ipsos The survey monitored 15133 households in 34 towns across four zones The survey captured 50 common ailments and conditions and includes the categories of analgesics and antipyretics oral care cough and cold antacids and digestives antispasmodics anti diarrhoea skin injuriesailments hair problems sleep loss etc actions taken home remedies selfmedication doctors visit brand awareness and usage It also included understanding the penetration of some common OTC categories including ORS vitamins minerals and supplements artificial sweeteners etc treatment management of common ailment and conditions home remedies selfmedication doctors visit The survey further checked the prevalence of chronic conditions such as hypertension diabetes asthma thyroid etc and penetration of medical devices viz Blood glucose monitor Thermometer BP monitor etc in the household and a module on Covidled behavior change Monica Gangwani country service line leader Ipsos Healthcare says Several observations compelled us to conduct this panIndia study One we found there is a surge in selfmedication due to paucity of time increased literacy levels and high doctor fee Secondly mushrooming of new categories like cosmeceuticals health supplements and wearable devices and thirdly erstwhile ethical pharma companies taking their popular brands from Rx to OTC and strong promotion of OTC brands So technically there have been a surfeit of ethical brands taking the OTC plunge and there was a complete lack of a credible study tying up various elements of the OTC aspects consumers brands behavior and need gaps Covid ImpactUnlike popular perception the study found no significant change in medicine stocking behaviour of consumers during the Covid lockdown phase vs preCovid 55 per cent respondents did not specifically stock medicines during lockdown This behaviour was no different to the preCovid phase with 54 per cent of the respondents claiming not stocking medicines even during normal times Only 7 per cent of the respondents mentioned consulting a doctor during the Covid lockdown phase 88 per cent of those consultations were for common conditions cough cold fever acidity indigestion etc while 31 per cent were for regular checkups for conditions such as diabetes hypertension arthritis asthma etc Also Read Free resources are opening up to help employees manage mental health during WFHThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever