What is Self-Medication? Pros and Cons!
By:
Jessica Joy
Self-medication means self-administering the medication for physical or psychological ailments without consulting a doctor or medical supervision. The most widely used medications are over-the-counter drugs and dietary supplements or nutraceuticals. According to recent statistics, most people prefer taking self-medication for some common ailments like the common cold, cough, fever, body pain because self-medication is a less expensive and convenient way of treating these common problems.
Â
Self-medication has its benefits as well as side effects. It is necessary to use over-the-counter drugs rationally. This can be harmful as these drugs may have serious long-term side effects. Every drug has its side effects, when you administer any medication it may cause relief but its side effects will also be there.
For example, 80% f people administer paracetamol in fever and do not know about the side effects it is causing to your liver. Taking paracetamol can cause liver damage. Drugs used for cough are addictive and overdose can have dangerous effects. They have a sedative effect and make the patient drowsy.
The danger related to self-medication:
It is dangerous if you consume an overdose of medicine and may result in serious health complications and even death.
Taking lots of antibiotics can cause resistance to the microorganism in your body.
One thing to note here is, it is likely to cause drug addiction and that can be a very serious problem that might require therapies and rehab!
· It may cause instant relief but also causes long-term side effects. There are chances that you take medicines and there might be any unwanted reaction or side-effect!
· Alo, one important thing to note here is that overdose may lead to death.
It is easy and convenient to take over-the-counter (OTC) drugs but you should know the side effects they can cause to your body. You should first consult a doctor and then take the prescribed medicines. You should also create social awareness and help people to know about the ill effects an unprescribed drugs.
