Self-medication is defined as the selection and use of medicines by individuals to treat self- diagnosed symptoms. Self-medication is thought to reduce the load on the medical services, decrease the time spent in waiting to see the physician, and save cost especially among economically deprived people. Since it is instant, there is no expense of the doctor but when they ultimately 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. Self-medication is okay to many of us. It’s just a crocin or some ‘safe’ antibiotic we believe we are taking 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 as they are popping candies. Medicines such as pain relief drugs, cough syrups, laxatives, antibiotics, anti-allergy medicines, vitamins and even antacids. Since these are drugs that can be bought over the counter meds, these are easier to acquire.
Popping pills may get us instant relief but what we don’t realize is that it is. not free of side-effects. 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 and self-medication is an unhealthy practice.
