Self Medication; The Self Inflicting Problem in the health Sector

Being in good health and shape is priority, before any other thing follows. Health is wealth, so they say, but what happens when you realize that your health is now fighting against you. My uncle who came to visit us few weeks ago have been complaining of his inability to sleep, arm ache as well as body ache, breathing difficulty and discomfort. One act that I do not like, and I kick against, is self-medication. Self-medication, is responsible for the majority of simple health complications, including incorrect and dangerous drug combination and so on pubmed. I immediately asked that we go to the hospital to see a doctor. When we got there, the doctor diagnosed Hypertension. My Uncle started to wonder how he could be diagnosed with high blood pressure, and decided to go to a different hospital for medical confirmation, and he got the same result. I began to wonder why he didn't trust the first doctor, and I learnt that he is too used to self-medicating, that he has his mind tuned to believe, that the only illness he usually has is Typhoid and Malaria, and he made it clear to me that once he notices any symptoms, he is quick to self-medicate himself. In this post, as much as I want to talk about my Uncle's Hypertension experience, because it was funny and there is a lot to learn, I will be looking into self-medication.

It is a Global Phenomenon

You start to wonder if it is a thing of the south, the east, or the west. Anywhere you come from, it is no doubt that there are people who self-medicate. It is quite surprising how self-medication is found around educated people. According to the article, Self-medication: A current challenge, published on the NCBI journal, 73% of people who self-medicate in Punjab, India are educated. The same journal shows that 13% of the US population self-medicate.

In growing and underdeveloped countries, where health care is expensive and/or not available, self-medication becomes a choice when people have to care for their health. While this is the case for developing countries, it can be different in the developed world, as people could self-medicate without the intention of self-medicating. In developed countries, people trying to use pain relief for simple headaches without visiting a physician after, because the ache disappeared. If this person keeps doing it over and over, then it could be regarded as self-medication.

An article published on dovepress.com showed that 71.1% of the cases in the research self-medicates because they believe the illness is less serious. These less serious illnesses would include gastrointestinal diseases, headache, and respiratory tract infection.

While some people love to party, be with company, and associate with other people, some people do not like to mingle with others, they do have social phobia and to get away with this, self-medicating as a way to overcome it could lead to illicit drug usage and drug abuse.(Science Direct).

Self-Medication and Pregnancy

While self-medication is a fundamental part of self-care, but then, it has caused great concern. According to research in Peru and Ethiopia, Diclofenac and Paracetamol has been seen to be the commonly used self-medication with pregnant women.(europepmc). It is also no doubt that pregnant women who follow through Antenatal Care, are 75% less likely to self-medicate, proving that lack of money, or the proper fascility will be the major cause for the usage of those medications. (bmcresnotes). To set it straight, most drugs are advised to be avoided during pregnancy, unless when prescribed by a physician. In an article posted on mothertobaby.com, pregnant women are to avoid ACE inhibiting medications for high blood pressure during their second and third trimester, as it affects the amniotic fluid level surrounding the baby, which could affect the development of the baby. High blood pressure medications are sold over the counter, but when a woman with High BP gets pregnant and decides to use an over the counter medication for high blood pressure without a doctor's prescription, there is a possibility that she will be taking a medication that could hurt her child.

Handing a Bulletproof to Microbes

In my previous post Malaria, Typhoid Coinfection|| An Experience with Drug Resistance Coinfection, I explained how Malaria and Typhoid have become resistance to medications in recent times. It is no doubt that self-medication, when used by people, they do not either complete the dose, they use the wrong doses, or combine wrong medications together. The major causes of antibiotic resistance microorganism are; incomplete treatment and wrong medications. (NCBI). When it comes to the use of antibiotics in some areas including Nigeria, Sudan, Greece, Kenya, Spain, and so on, medications such as Amoxicillin is one of the most frequently used for self-medicating. This was established in a research published on Bmcpublichealth as Amoxicillin is a well known antibiotics which can be easily accessed by people.

Conclusion

Self Medication is a sword which in some cases has its side of good in the part of first-aid, but the other edge of the sword seems to cut more, as it has become a reason for concern in the health world. A lot of conditions could be responsible for allowing people to self-medicate, but one factor I believe is a major cause of self-medication is pharma companies and their marketing. The way pharma companies market their product make it something that people can use first before visiting their doctors, and this allows people to believe in the medication as a solution before visiting a hospital, instead of visiting a hospital first to be diagnosed and treated accordingly.

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