Health
A Pharmacist, Jude Azai, has warned against self-medication as it can cause drug resistance and predispose individuals to other medical conditions.
Azai, who is the Public Relations Officer of Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Plateau branch, gave the caution in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Jos.
He explained that most medications have their primary function and aside from the primary function, the medication may have other secondary and tertiary activities not known to the person who was self-medicating.
He maintained that the secondary or tertiary activities of the drugs could predispose the patient to other medical conditions not known to the individual.
According to him, such can actually inflict another health condition that is completely different from what the person is trying to treat.
He explained that there were times the individual may have co-existing health conditions and the drug the individual used could
trigger another underlining illness.
He added that “aside the wrong or inappropriate medication, wrong dosing regimen, self-medication can also lead to drug contraindication which can result in potential fatal reactions.
“Self-medication is when an individual takes a particular medication for a perceived illness.’’
The pharmacist attributed economic issues as factor that could be responsible for the act, as many people who did not have funds to access healthcare facility indulged in the act.
He, therefore, called for subsidised healthcare delivery in terms of consultation and cost of drugs.
Azai further called for increased awareness to educate the public on the ills of self-medication.
NAN
– May 18, 2021 @ 13:36 GMT
Tags: Expert warns against self-medication
