Skip to content
Research Article Open access CC BY 4.0

The Use of Topical Clobetasol among the Women in Hail Region, Saudi Arabia: A Cross-sectional Study on Knowledge and Practice

Mukhtar Ansari, Subish Palaian, Mohamed Izham Mohamed Ibrahim, Pathiyil Ravi Shankar

Journal of Pharmaceutical Research International · pp. 1–7 · Published 22 Nov 2019

10.9734/jpri/2019/v31i630319

Abstract

Aims: The current study aimed to evaluate female consumers’ knowledge and practice about harmful effects of topical clobetasol applied on the face for cosmetic purposes.  Study Design: Cross-sectional study.  Place and Duration of Study: Randomly selected community pharmacies, well known cosmetic shops and shopping malls of Hail region, Saudi Arabia from March 2018 to June 2018. Methodology: We included 391 participants who only used ‘clobetasol’ as a topical steroid at the time of interview, responses were collected as per the study tool and analyzed using SPSS for Windows, Version 16.0. Chicago, SPSS Inc.. Results: Relatives (28.1%), friends (25.6%) and community pharmacists (15.6%) contributed significantly towards using topical clobetasol cream. In 86.2% of the cases, the pharmacists who dispensed clobetasol did not inform the consumer about the harmful effects. Purchasing the cream without prescription (P = 0.025) was significantly associated with age. In the study, 41.9 % of the females experienced adverse effects, with the commonest one being hair growth on face (23%) followed by dermatrophy (14.8%); with a significant association with frequency of use (p<0.001). Conclusion: There was haphazard use of topical clobetasol by females and they were unaware of the adverse effects. Over-the-counter availability of topical clobetasol, lack of knowledge about harmful effects, and lack of counseling on its safety profile by community pharmacists and other healthcare professionals are mainly responsible for its misuse and harmful consequences.

Adverse effects clobetasol consumers corticosteroids Saudi Arabia topical.

References (11)

  1. 1 Adverse effects of topical glucocorticosteroids [DOI]
  2. 2 The Effect of Topically Applied Compound F in Selected Dermatoses [DOI]
  3. 3 Basic and Clinical Pharmacology of Glucocorticosteroids [DOI]
  4. 4 Rational and ethical use of topical corticosteroids based on safety and efficacy [DOI]
  5. 5 Self‐medication misuse in the Middle East: a systematic literature review [DOI]
  6. 6 Misuse of topical corticosteroids: A clinical study of adverse effects [DOI]
  7. 7 Misuse of topical corticosteroids on the face: A cross-sectional study among dermatology outpatients [DOI]
  8. 8 Knowledge, Attitude and Advice-Giving Behaviour of Community Pharmacists Regarding Topical Corticosteroids [DOI]
  9. 9 Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Skin Whitening among Female University Students in Northeastern Nigeria [DOI]
  10. 10 Topical corticosteroid abuse on face: a clinical study of 100 patients [DOI]
  11. 11 Knowledge, attitude, and practice analysis of corticosteroid use among patients: A study based in the United Arab Emirates [DOI]

Cited by 5

Common Medications Prescribed by Oral Medicine Practitioners in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study

K. Aljohani, K. AL-Hamad · Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare · 2026

Hydroquinone Levels in Unregulated Skin-Lightening Creams and Women’s Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Toward Skin-Lightening Products in Hail, Saudi Arabia

Farhan Alshammari, Fawaz Alheibshy, Ahmed Alobaida · Patient Preference and Adherence · 2025

Topical Steroid Damaged Face: A Cross-Sectional Study from Saudi Arabia

Mahdi Al Dhafiri, A. Alali, Z. Alghanem · Clinics and Practice · 2022

Showing 3 of 5 known citations — external sources report more than can currently be individually listed.

Related research

Article metrics

Real usage data collected on this platform.

44

Page views

0

PDF downloads

19

Outbound clicks

5

Citations

Views over time

Views by country

Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".

Traffic sources

Referring site, by host.

Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.