Nowadays there are millions of medicines being manufactured for patients with different ailments. Self-medication is okay for many of us. It is just a Calpol or some ‘safe’ antibiotic we believe we are ingesting, as going to the doctor can be time-consuming and expensive. But there are side-effects to this and very harmful ones at that. The practice of self-medication even for small health issues can lead to complications. People tend to pop pills such as pain relief drugs, cough syrups, laxatives, antibiotics, anti-allergy medicines, vitamins and even antacids. But what we do not realise is that opting for self-medication makes us prone to allergies, drug-dependence, and even addiction.
Unfortunately, there is very little or almost no awareness about the disadvantages of self-medication. Sadly, we still go ahead and take doses randomly and don’t even check the composition of the medicine and are clueless about the side-effects of these on our body. Eating pills may get us instant relief but what we don’t realize is that it is not free of side-effects. At times, a patient may be under prescribed medication for different health issues, and self-medicating may lead to adverse reactions. This is because one drug may react differently when consumed with another drug. This can even lead to death. Hence, consulting a doctor is a must.
A massive problem with self-medication is that we do not know about its dosage. This means we often underestimate its strength and are unaware about its composition. We have no clue as to how the drug should be taken, its side-effects and even reactions. Ignorance is not bliss in this case. People take self-medication because it is instant, and of course, there is no expense on the doctor. But when eventually they suffer from severe health issues, their medical expense increases two-fold. Self-medication as a habit can damage one’s health irrevocably, causing disabilities and even premature death. Government agencies must take stringent steps to control the selling of medicines without having the doctor’s prescription. There are medical stores without proper registration selling medicines like foodstuff to patients.

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SAHIL MANZOOR