Doctors want govt to penalise pharmacies and people who buy medicines without prescription
PRACTICE OF SELF-MEDICATION EXCEEDINGLY COMMON, SAY EXPERTS
It is unfortunate that the practice of self-medication, or taking medicine without a doctor’s prescription is exceedingly common. Many parents even medicate their children without consulting a medical professional.
People need to be aware of what they are doing to themselves and their children. Something which is very common is that people who have trouble falling asleep take extremely strong sedatives to help them go to bed on time, when simpler alternatives like exercise, change of diet or less visual stimulation (like television) are available.
Doctors say that not only do these alternatives work quite well, they also do not cause the kind of side effects that self-medicating with sedatives do; such as addiction and liver damage.
Some people overuse other medications, like paracetamol, which destroys the lining of the stomach and causes ulcers. Other people take dangerous barbiturates and opiates for anxiety. All of these are extremely destructive.
The treatment required would often be just symptomatic care, but often antibiotics are dispensed for the same and this promotes the development of a resistant organism.
“What looks like a mild illness would be actually a serious problem, requiring appropriate diagnosis, tests, and treatment. If precious time is wasted in self-medicating, the consequences are dire, often leading to the hospital and intensive care admission or in some cases, a threat to life,” said a doctor.
The fluctuating temperatures and the frequently changing weather conditions in Indian cities have led to increased viral infections. Most often self-medication is the option for quick relief; however, there is no role of antibiotics in common viral infections.
Most people do not seek help from doctors when they are ill. The symptoms of SARS and influenza are virtually indistinguishable from each other, so even
a doctor cannot provide the right treatment without tests, and it is fraught with complications.
Therapists strongly recommend that patients listen to their advice and follow a clearly spelled out treatment. But for this, you need to call the doctor or visit them.
If you decide to treat cold at home without medical assistance, then you should know that not only do these methods not work, but also can adversely affect the course of the disease and cause complications.
A senior doctor said it is high time the government should take action to stop this self-destruction. “Pharmacies which sell prescription drugs without asking to see a doctor’s prescription should be penalized severely. Moreover, people buying prescription drugs without prescriptions should also be heavily penalised,” said doctor.
He added that the government should also take into account the supply and demand of prescription drugs and check if anything seems suspicious in how much of these drugs are being supplied and manufactured.
A senior doctor said that if the patient is suffering from dengue and his platelet count falls to a very low level, then it might be too late to save that patient. Many a times, instructions given by doctors with medication are very important, and that’s what’s missing in self-medication. For example, taking chloroquine on an empty stomach by children might cause heavy vomiting and the condition might worsen.
Doctors say a problem with selfmedication is that people are unaware of differential diagnosis and miss out on important investigations that need to be carried out before treatment, and end up taking wrong medications, which might give fatal side effects or body might become drug resistance.
“It is high time we have awareness amongst ourselves and we join our hands to spread this awareness to protect our and many more generations to come from this dreaded emerging multi-drug resistant organisms!” added a doctor.