What You Need To Know Regarding Self Medication

I remember when a friend of mine was sick and had to visit the hospital for test. She didn't know exactly what was wrong with her and had to run a general test which cost her about N5,000. When the results of the test came out, she was furious to discover it was just malaria she had...

Many of us have come to reason in this light that running medical tests before taking drugs is a waste of money and thus resort to treating ourselves; basing our prescriptions on similar symptoms experienced in the past.

The reasons for this are centered on ignorance and poverty.

Whenever you fall sick, notice that you get to be hearing things like;

"Have you taken any drug?", 

"Which drug have you taken?" 

"Go to the pharmacy/chemist and get some drugs" etc.

Only a microscopic few get to hear stuffs like "You don run test?"

For some of you that do go and visit specialists or doctors, when asked what is wrong with you, you may respond by saying "I have malaria". Why visit the doctor in the first place? Who told you or confirmed to you that your problem is malaria?

One thing about these drugs and even the ailments is that they need to match in order to obtain the desired result. That is to say that thyphoid for example have different levels/classes. You cannot treat a class 2 thyphoid with a class 1 drug.

This is why you could treat yourself with a drug today and it will work perfectly. Try it the next time and it will have little or no effect. It doesn't mean the potency of the drug has reduced, in most cases, the ailment is not the same even though the symptoms look the same.

The right thing to do whenever you experience discomfort is to talk to your doctor first. Let your doctor diagnose and prescribe what your next step should be. There are cases where you don't even need to run a test or even drugs to get better. You may need to change your diet, you may need rest, you may need a vacation, you may need exercise...

There are some of us who are now doctors by experience and have become experts in prescribing medications to others even when we've not been licensed to do so. Technology has in a way contributed to this such that digital devices are now readily available that avails individuals the leisure of performing tests themselves in the comfort of their homes.

Another reason why some of us choose to opt out of seeing a doctor or even running tests is due to the perceived costs associated with it. There are those who imagine that these tests may run into thousands of naira whereas it is not so in most cases. I remember running a malaria test in a Primary Health Care center for just N200.

The level of poverty in this country has gotten to the extent that drugs are administered to patients based on their purchasing power and not on their need. I have been in some local small pharmacies -chemists as they usually call them - and I've witnessed patients requesting for say malaria drugs and they're asked "How much own?"

Before taking any drug, be sure to have been authorised by a specialist to do so, otherwise you risk endangering yourself or even wasting that money you think you're saving. It's also drug abuse.