Self-medication silent killer

For several reasons, self-medication has become the order of the day in Nigeria. Everybody is now a doctor or pharmacist in every nook and cranny of the country.

This trend, however, is not peculiar to Nigeria. Research has shown that self-medication is also rampant in most developing countries where the economy is not good and the government does not provide adequate healthcare facilities and programmes.

It has become a common occurrence for people to source for over-the-counter drugs or simply proceed to self-diagnosis whenever they fall ill, without consulting a doctor or medical professionals.

Self-medication may be defined as the use of drugs to treat self-diagnosed disorders or symptoms on the intermittent or continuous use of prescribed drugS for chronic or re-current diseases or symptoms.

According to experts, the consequences of self-prescription or medication are life-threatening.

Experts are also of the opinion that people fail to realise that the negative impacts of self-medication far outweighs the anticipated  benefits.

The dangers of self-medication include incorrect self-diagnosis, delays in seeking medical advice urgently; dangerous drugs interactions, incorrect choice of therapy, drug dependence and abuse.

Other risks are the incorrect manner of administration and the masking of a severe disease, which could worsen before appropriate treatment is sought and initiated.

But despite the health complications associated with self-medication, many people still embrace this dangerous method of treatment because they feel it is cheaper.

Some people indulge in self-medication for economic and social reasons, particularly given the economic hardship in the country. Others are of the view that to seek treatment in a hospital or consulting medical practitioners is a waste of time.

From the foregoing, it is clear that one of the major factors for the high rate of self-medication is poverty. People find it cheaper to visit the retail chemist shop than to bear the huge cost of going to a hospital to see an expert or a doctor.

Another factor is government’s neglect of the health sector in a country of about 180 million people, which invariably leads to proliferation of chemist shops across the country, where fake drugs are dispensed over the counter.

Given the foregoing, the government should make funding of the health sector a fundamental part of the budget. It should make better polices that would improve the sector for easier accessibility to drugs.

The government should also help to improve the economic well-being of the people by making policies that would alleviate poverty in the land, while mass campaigna should be carried out by health professionals to sensitise the public on the dangers of self-medication.

Akoja Mary

Ibadan, Oyo State.