Opinion | Self-medication: a step towards the destruction

By Sahil Manzoor

In modern’s days, demands are high, day to day agricultural land is getting decreased due to the increase in the population worldwide. Our health is one of the main concern these days. There are certain changes in our lifestyle. We need an adequate and balanced diet to combat to lethal diseases but at the same time, we are not taking sufficient amounts of vegetables, fruits and not drinking plenty of liquid. These are common reasons behind the growth of abnormality among the individuals. Junk food is trending today, delicious and tasty food is available in the market. That’s too on very reasonable rates and fast serving to their customers but one thing is clear for good health we need pure organic form of food to avoid stomach related issues and so on. Adulterated food is one of the reasons behind the abnormal body function and there, contaminated water is being supplied to the consumers by the concerned department, and should be redressed on priority basis. Keeping in view the health of the public.

Medicines or drugs a substance specifically used to promote the healing when consumed or ingested through different ways like by ingestion through mouth, nostrils, eyes, ears or even by ingested through different medicinal equipment into the patient’s body when there is need. Nowadays there are millions of medicines being prepared for the better treatment of the patients for different ailments. Medicine is indeed a vast term and there are a number of agencies to promote the quality of the medicines.

Self-medication is okay for many of us. It is just a calpal 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 idea of self-medication even for small health issues can lead to complications. People tend to pop pills. Medicines 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 the less said, the better about its composition. We have a 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 of 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 the medicines like food stuffs among the patient’s.