A large number of people do not consult the physician when they fall sick. They either consult a chemist or obtain medicine from his shelf, or a neighbour who may have some left over tablets from his previous illness, and readily spares them. Self-medication for even minor ailments could lead to medical complications. People often pop pills for common ailments like fevers, colds, coughs, headaches and to alleviate symptoms of mental distress, stress and anxiety, without bothering to consult a doctor. The surprising part about this is that, some medical doctors or practitioners self-medicate when they happen to fall sick.
Self-medication, as defined by the World Self-Medication industry, is the treatment of common health problems with medicines especially designed and labeled for use without medical supervision and approved as safe and effective for such use. Moreover, taking more or less of a prescribed dosage of a drug could be termed as self-medication.
Some people seek independence through self care and their basic goals are to improve the quality of life by maintaining their health and maximizing their potential in health and also to cope with chronic diseases and deal with minor problems. Meanwhile, self-medication has implications and individuals who embark on this should be ready to bear full responsibility for their actions. There are implications for the society at large (some of which are positive), for the pharmaceutical industry, for the economy, for the health professionals and most importantly, for individuals (most of which can be very critical).
The first of these negative implications is associated with misdiagnosing the illness. When an individual misdiagnoses the illness, a minor health issue which could have been resolved easily with the doctor's advice may become a major problem over time. Symptoms may subside temporarily with self-medication, but it would become difficult for a doctor to correctly diagnose and treat later.
Many people will use analgesics (painkillers) in order to self-medicate for pain and this is considered normal. Analgesics can induce gastritis; an inflammation of the lining of the stomach, and can also increase risk of stroke by four times in patients with high blood pressure (BP). If you can use paracetamol in order to help yourself cope with a headache or backache then this is a good idea and will have relatively few consequences, if any. However, Paracetamol needs to be taken in moderation and can cause death if you overdose too radically. Likewise, overuse can also cause problems – lowering your pain threshold for instance, or in the case of ibuprofen, causing damage to the stomach lining and liver. Another reason not to use painkillers too readily is that completely eradicating pain is a bad idea in itself – pain comes for a reason and serves an important purpose in the body. If you have a backache for instance, and you medicate to the point of not noticing it, then you will be less careful and less aware of which movements can cause injury – and this may result in a setback of your recovery.
The use of something like aspirin for bleeding or with low blood pressure would be a problem as aspirin works by thinning the blood – this would then lower blood pressure further and prevent the formation of scabs. Also, other medicines and herbal drugs can have interactions with other medication and this can adversely affect the body.
Another important implication to note is that, some antibiotics such as penicillin or sulfur drugs can cause severe allergic reactions in the body for some people, which could be fatal. In addition to the above, one could become addicted to prescription drugs such as antacids, cough syrups and pain relievers, especially when overdosed.
So yes, self-medicate with paracetamol and other painkillers if you are experiencing acute pain, but do so with moderation and speak to your doctor first. And for all the same reasons listed above, don't try to medicate for pain with drugs or alcohol as it will cause other damage to your body and result in other negative consequences like depression, liver damage, heart damage, dehydration, weight gain and more.
Sure, doctors make mistakes too (especially, those who refuse to listen to the patient) but they have more information after studying for years and spending their every day encountering real cases – so they are far less likely to make these mistakes than someone without that training and experience.
By Dr. Marcus Manns - Chiropractic and Wellness Centre
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