SELF MEDICATION is something that all of us are guilty of, at some point of time or other. While it is not bad to try out some prove home remedies for those common illnesses or take a Crocin or Dolo for fever, it is important to know that there are serious implications and limitations of self-medication. Prescribed medicines are almost done so by doctors on the basis of certain tests and considering your body’s condition. Hence what works for one may never really work for another. There is also possibility that it could actually backfire and cause you more harm than good. Hence, for any slightly serious issue, it is always better not to go in for self-medication or even on the basis of anybody’s suggestion, other than a qualified doctor.
Now what could go wrong if you self-medicate?
1 Incorrect Diagnosis
There is an incident, wherein a mother took her kid to a doctor, and informed the doctor, that she thought that her daughter who had stomach pain, had food poisoning. The doctor sternly looked at the mother, “ Please tell me the symptoms and the course of events, and allow me to diagnose what the problem could be”. As it turned out, the issue was something far more serious, which had to be diagnosed through scans and tests. This is a typical example of how wrong we usually are about understanding health issues. We presume that we know and understand the symptoms and why it happened and we could actually be wrong.
Hence, when we medicate ourselves, we could actually be doing so on the basis of a totally wrong diagnosis and may end up complicating the problem. It also means that we have delayed in seeking the right treatment, which if it was done on time could have saved so much trouble for all.
2 Allergy or Adverse Reactions
When we normally visit a doctor for a particular issue, the doctor carefully listens to the symptoms, checks them out, prescribes a few tests, if necessary, checks out our medical as well as family history and then prescribes the medicines. It is quite possible that we are allergic to certain medicines or few other regular medicines that we are taking when taken in a combination with something else can cause some adverse reactions. This is another reason why self-medication should not be attempted. In fact at times, it can prove to be quite disastrous than we can envisage.
3 Incorrect Dosage
The doctor is also the best judge of what could be the right dosage for your body. Just like how kids are usually given a different dosage of the same medicine, most people also would need different dosages. Incorrect dosages also can cause lots of trouble, needing medical intervention.
4 Side Effects
Almost all the medicines have some kind of side effects or the other. When we do not know about these, we may end up creating more problem for the actual issue and distress for us as well. The doctors who prescribe the medicines clearly know the side effects and would have either warned us or prescribed some alternative or relief for such things.
5 What are The Alternatives?
The first and foremost thing is to ensure that you always have your prescription ready for your regular medications. If you find any other issues, visit the doctor.
In the end, please avoid self-medication which in the longer run will not give you benefit but there is every chance that self-medication may be responsible for your many medical issues.
Waiting for your feedback/comments on this blog.
Anil Malik
Mumbai, India
16th January 2025