Self Medication - disadvantages
Submitted by nirupama on Sat, 04/12/2008 - 10:11.
in
It is the common people's belief that only safe medicines are permitted to be sold without prescription and that OTC medicines do not usually have serious side-effects. How very wrong a perception that is!
Abuse is the non-medical use of OTC drugs, e.g. to experience the feeling of “nirvana” associated with alcohol or drug consumption or, as is very common among the youth today, to lose weight.
Misuse is defined as using an OTC product for a legitimate medical reason but in higher doses or for a longer period than recommended, e.g. taking more of a painkiller than recommended to treat a headache. Reports have proven that paracetamol, an antipyretic and analgesic in large doses can cause liver failure. Paracetamol toxicity is, by far, the most common cause of acute liver failure in both the United States and the United Kingdom. It is also not a very greatly advertised fact that coffee consumed with paracetamol or too much of alcohol consumption in association with the drug usage, can cause unprecedented liver failure rates.
Alcohol is used universally to treat depression- as an OTC product. Ironically, alcohol is classified as a depressant by many pharmacopeia and can actually accentuate depression. It is incompatible with many of the drugs used to treat depression and can increase the sedative effects of the same.
Valsartan is an anti-hypertensive drug developed by Novartis. It is highly effective when used in recommended quantities. The main consideration is the over usage of the drug- it may cause hypotension, which may eventually lead to heart failure and also hepatic and renal failure. My grandfather, a relatively healthy man aged 90 passed away 2 years ago because of over usage of the drug. His kidneys failed miserably and even after intensive hospitalization, he expired within the week. It was terrible to realize that we could not have done anything to help him, except keep the medicines out of his way……but how much can you really dissuade a scared old person? Especially when it is someone you love and just wish to let them do what they want to keep them happy?
Responsible self medication is excellent- as long as we remember that the key word is responsible.
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thanks!
thanks for reading!
sorry i'm replying so late....exams stil going on.
well subhranshu,thats what my blog entry was about right?about people who dont check out the actual cause of their disorder and just directly take the medicine?they are in just as bad a situation as people who dont try to find out the side-effects of the medicine in different cases and just take them.
responsible self medication implies that people are cognizant of their problem first of all,its reason secondly and then the drug to take along with all the side-effects that the patient is warned against.
is that what you asked?i'm sorry if it isn't. i did not quite get your question.
-Nirupama
lack of medical knowledge...
well nirupama, the question i had asked about was that common people don't have a medical background of knowledge like we people do have...right?? So, what about the side-effects and secondary effects that those medications (take the example i had given in my last comment entry) would give to the patients and harm them....Obviously, they dont know about those effects...what they know about is simply that ibuprofen would lower their fever down and that's the purpose they are taking that medication for...But, what they dont know are the potential harmful effects ibuprofen would give like peptic ulcer, depression of immunity (which would further worsen the case, if the fever happens to be due to microbial infection )....So how would you account for such a case taking into consideration the advantages of self-medication because it would save time and money, but at the same time it's a very common ailment for what people take medications for.....????If you still don't get my words, please be free to ask me to clarify the point which you did not get....I would definitely try to clarify it more.....
thanks for your comment!
Ok 1st of all, plz remember that the key word is responsible as I stated.
Responsibility implies using your cognitive functions such that they don’t bail out on u.
Responsibility does not just imply being responsible about ur medication - its about everything in life : just because someone has a driving license does not mean that he will never die in an accident. Even if he's careful about everything that he should be careful about, does not guarantee him a 100% chance of survival. But still driving is unavoidable because a)it makes life simpler because it gives one a feeling of independence and b)it also saves all the money that one would otherwise spend on an avoidable task as travelling. one takes a license because that'll act as an "effective safety net"-but at the end of the day, it’s a net that he can fall through.
Similarly, self medication is unavoidable despite the many hidden pitfalls u've hinted at. I'm sure even u don’t goto a doctor for a mild headache. u'll take a pain killer and allow it to subside. U r educated but there's no guarantee that u will know exactly what's going on inside your body. won't u take the medicine because it will save time and money?u will go to the doctor only if your condition worsens right?
Everything has its advantages and disadvantages- just because it has some disadvantages, does not mean that you will not do it right?
Also, please remember that self medication is approved by many pharmaceutical companies around the world. Else why would they be allowed to manufacture OTC drugs in the first place?i cited my reference as the WSMI. If you visit their website,u will realise how widely it is advocated in so many regions around the world.
I hope that clarifies all your doubts.
what 'we people' can do?
you have done a great job on this topic, 'self medication'. According to me, the disadvantage side of the self medication weighs more compared to the advantages. You could have emphasize on some of the aspects the pharmacists can do inorder to reduce the self medication troubles.
thanks!
thank you Praseen!
i'll try to address this topic in my next blog entry.
what about ADRs associated?
You had stated in the last line that self-medication is excellent but reponsibility must accompany. So i would like to put before you a situation in which suppose i have suffered from fever. Now, being a normal non-professional patient, I take in any anti-pyretic or NSAID like ibuprofen, aspirin which are available as OTC. Now, as you know NSAIDs like aspirin are also COX-1 inhibitor and decrease gastric mucus secretion which are responsible for gastric protection against acidity. So, in that case, such OTC medications can cause peptic ulcers, which are in no way, harmless. On the other hand, if that fever is due to a bacterial or viral infection, the natural defence of body, i.e.- inflammation, to kill those bacteria or virus is being suppressed by NSAID. And being a patient, I don't know whether it is due to microbial infection and which anti-microbial to take against it.
It would be really nice of you if you clarify my doubt...