世論 What Japan Thinks

I used to have athlete’s foot, but Japanese over-the-counter medicines cured it pretty promptly and it has never returned, mainly due, I suspect, to living in much more hygenic conditions since I got married! To find out about festering feet in Japan and other issues, Yahoo! Japan Value Insight conducted a survey into what is known as switch OTC medicines, which means medicines with active ingredients that have switched from being prescription only to being also sold Over The Counter.

Demographics

Between the 13th and 15th December 2007 600 members of the Yahoo! Japan Value Research online monitor panel successfully completed a survey. Exactly 50.0% were male, and 33.3% were in their thirties, 33.3% in their forties, and 33.3% in their fifties. Each age group was also split 50:50 male and female. In addition exactly 50.0% had used OTC medicines for athlete’s foot within the last six months; I presume that these users were evenly distributed by sex and age.

I better have a short disclaimer just in case: I am not a health professional, and nothing within this article should be taken as medical advice, or even as accurate information. Please consult a doctor or pharmacist before taking any medicines, even over the counter ones, in order to avoid drug interactions or other problems. Mentions of any products or links to external sites does not imply a recommendation or a vouching for the quality or even safety of the products or sites.

Research results

Q1: Have you heard the term “Switch OTC Medicines”? (Sample size=600)

Never heard of it	90.7%
Just heard the term	7.5%
Know enough to explain it to others	1.8%

Men were more aware than women of the term, at 11.0% compared to 7.7%.

Q2: Are you aware of the following ingredients that appear in switch OTC medicines? (Sample size=600)

日本語	English	Usage	Awareness
インドメシン	Indomethacin	Arthritis	65.8%
イブプロフェン	Ibuprofen	Pain relief	39.5%
塩化リゾチーム	Lysozyme	Anti-bacterial?	35.8%
塩酸ブテナフィン	Butenafine	Fungicide	23.3%
塩酸ブロムヘキシン	Bromhexine	Mucolytic for coughs	23.2%
硝酸オキシコナゾール	Oxyconazole	Dandruff	10.3%
イソプロピルアンチピリン	Isopropylantipyrine, propyphenazone	Analgesic, antipyretic	8.0%
塩酸テルビナフィン	Terbinafine hydrochloride	Fungicide	6.7%
酪酸ヒドロコルチゾン	Hydrocortisone butyrate	Relief of the inflammatory and pruritic manifestations of seborrheic dermatitis	5.3%
ラノコナゾール	Lanoconazole	Anti-fungal	5.2%
ピロキシカム	Piroxicam	Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug	5.2%
塩酸セトラキサート	Cetraxate hydrochloride	Anti-gastric ulcers	3.0%
メコバラミン	Mecobalamin	Neuro active form of Vit B12	2.8%
ファモチジン	Famotidine	Anti-gastric ulcers	2.8%
ウフェナマート	Ufenamate	Antiinflammatory agent, analgesic	2.5%
フマル酸クレマスチン	Clemastine fumarate	Relief of symptoms associated with allergic rhinitis or other upper respiratory allergies	2.3%
リン酸ジメモルファン	Dimemorfan	Cough suppressant	2.2%
ヒベンズ酸チペピジン	Tipepidine hibenzate	Cough suppressant	2.0%
オキセサゼイン	Oxetacaine	Gastric mucosal anesthetic	1.7%
None of them, don’t know			28.0%

Q3: Have you used medicines containing any of the ingredients from Q2? (Sample size=600)

Indomethacin	34.5%
Ibuprofen	17.7%
Lysozyme	15.7%
Butenafine	10.0%
Bromhexine	9.2%
Oxyconazole	4.2%
Isopropylantipyrine, propyphenazone	3.0%
Terbinafine hydrochloride	2.0%
Hydrocortisone butyrate	2.0%
Lanoconazole	1.8%
Piroxicam	1.8%
Cetraxate hydrochloride	1.8%
Mecobalamin	1.7%
Famotidine	1.7%
Ufenamate	1.3%
Clemastine fumarate	1.3%
Dimemorfan	1.3%
Tipepidine hibenzate	1.2%
Oxetacaine	1.2%
None of them, don’t know	53.2%

Q4: Have you heard of the following switch OTC medicines? (Sample size=600)

日本語	English	Use for	Awareness
パブロンＳ	Paburon S	Cold and flu	73.0%
バンテリンコーワ	Vantelin	Muscle pain	68.8%
新ルルA錠	New Lulu A	Cold and flu	68.2%
ガスター１０	Gaster-10	Gastrointestinal issues	68.0%
コンック鼻炎	Contac	Cold and flu	67.7%
カコナール総合感冒薬	Cakonal	Cold and flu	59.0%
イブＡ	Eve A	Painkiller	54.3%
コルゲンコーワET	Colgen Kowa ET	Cold and flu	52.2%
ブテナロック	Butenarokku	Athlete’s foot	43.0%
スコルバ２４	Scorba	Athlete’s foot	33.7%
サクロンＱ	Saclon Q	Upset stomach	32.5%
ラミシールＡＴ	Lamisil AT	Athlete’s foot	26.8%
サリドンＡ	Saridon A	Headache	19.8%
センロック顆粒	Senlock	Upset stomach	19.0%
ウインダム	Windom	Athlete’s foot	16.8%
ナボリン	Nabolin	Muscle pain	16.0%
リナベック	Linabec	Skin-related issues?	3.0%
ロコイダン	Rokoidan	Dry, itchy skin	2.7%
ジャスコート	Jascoat	Muscle pain	2.0%
None of them, don’t know			9.0%

Q5: Have you used the following switch OTC medicines from Q4? (Sample size=600)

Paburon S	37.8%
Vantelin	34.5%
New Lulu A	34.5%
Gaster-10	22.8%
Contac	22.5%
Cakonal	17.3%
Eve A	15.0%
Colgen Kowa ET	12.8%
Butenarokku	9.7%
Scorba	8.0%
Saclon Q	7.8%
Lamisil AT	5.2%
Saridon A	4.0%
Senlock	3.8%
Windom	2.5%
Nabolin	1.8%
Linabec	1.0%
Rokoidan	0.8%
Jascoat	0.7%
None of them, don’t know	23.3%

Q6: Would you want to use switch OTC medicines in the future? (Sample size=600)

Want to use	28.7%
Perhaps want to use	27.8%
Can’t say either way	39.2%
Perhaps don’t want to use	3.3%
Don’t want to use	1.0%

Q7: Within the last six months, which of the following feet-related symptoms that you feel might be athlete foot-related have you had? (Sample size=300)

Peeling, flaky skin	76.0%
Itchiness	73.7%
Dry skin	44.3%
Thickened, hardened skin	36.7%
Blisters	31.0%
Cracked skin	30.3%
Damp, swollen skin	27.3%
Sodden skin	20.7%
Redness	17.7%
Other	1.0%

Q8: How worried have you been about these symptoms in Q7? (Sample size=300)

	Worried	Quite worried	Not very worried	Not worried at all
Itchiness N=221	32.6%	51.1%	13.1%	3.2%
Sodden skin N=62	35.5%	41.9%	22.6%	0.0%
Thickened, hardened skin N=110	35.5%	40.9%	22.7%	0.9%
Blisters N=93	31.2%	45.2%	21.5%	2.2%
Cracked skin N=91	41.8%	33.0%	20.9%	4.4%
Damp, swollen skin N=82	30.5%	43.9%	25.6%	0.0%
Peeling, flaky skin N=220	27.6%	44.3%	23.2%	4.8%
Dry skin N=133	30.1%	36.8%	28.6%	4.5%
Redness N=53	32.1%	32.1%	30.2%	5.7%
Other N=3	66.7%	0.0%	0.0%	33.3%
All N=300	23.3%	50.0%	23.7%	3.0%

Q9: What degree of expectations do you have for the following aspects of OTC athlete’s foot medicines? (Sample size=300)

	Have expectations	Some expectations	Not much expectations	No expectations
Fungicidal power against the fungus that causes athlete’s foot	77.0%	20.0%	2.7%	0.3%
Both fungicidal power and itchiness relief	72.7%	21.7%	4.3%	1.3%
Quick penetration to affected part	68.7%	29.7%	1.3%	0.3%
Rapid effect	67.7%	28.7%	3.0%	0.7%
Long-lasting effect	67.0%	28.3%	4.3%	0.3%
Apply just once per day	66.7%	27.0%	5.7%	0.7%
Reasonable price	66.0%	30.7%	3.0%	0.3%
Itchiness relief	64.0%	29.3%	5.0%	1.7%
Can apply as desired	61.7%	33.7%	4.3%	0.3%
Fast drying	58.0%	33.0%	8.0%	1.0%
Doesn’t get hands dirty	49.3%	37.0%	11.3%	2.3%
Has latest ingredients	27.0%	41.7%	26.7%	4.7%
Cooling effect	17.7%	25.7%	43.7%	13.0%