What is Self Medication? Which medicines can be self medicated, tips and everything you should be familiar with
Keeping the dangers of self-medication in my mind, I thought to spread awareness about this issue through this post. After reading this post you will be familiar with what is self medication, problems caused by self medication and which medicine can be self medicated and which you shouldn't.
Self medication is a situation when a person starts taking any kind of medicine without prescription or advice of any medical expert. A patient does self medication according to his/her experience and knowledge about medicines.
All the ills do not need a medical consultation and it is often legitimate for them who save time by taking care of oneself. This is the very principle of self-medication. It is to obtain non-reimbursable drugs without prescription and advised of a pharmacist to treat minor ailments such as colds, migraine or passengers digestive disorders ... used in this way, it helps to alleviate mere symptoms without waiting a medical consultation.
Self medication is not a responsible act and it can be a major source of damage. Although self medication can be handy in some cases like in an emergency and there is no doctor around or the problem is very minor eg. Cold, Cough etc.
Any medical product used for self-medication must have the following characteristics:
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| Self Medication |
What is Self Medication?
Taking pills for any ailment without a doctor's prescription.Self medication is a situation when a person starts taking any kind of medicine without prescription or advice of any medical expert. A patient does self medication according to his/her experience and knowledge about medicines.
All the ills do not need a medical consultation and it is often legitimate for them who save time by taking care of oneself. This is the very principle of self-medication. It is to obtain non-reimbursable drugs without prescription and advised of a pharmacist to treat minor ailments such as colds, migraine or passengers digestive disorders ... used in this way, it helps to alleviate mere symptoms without waiting a medical consultation.
Self medication is not a responsible act and it can be a major source of damage. Although self medication can be handy in some cases like in an emergency and there is no doctor around or the problem is very minor eg. Cold, Cough etc.
Which medicines can be Self Medicated
Only if it is believed no any direct or indirect danger will be caused by the medicine, even if used without medical supervisionAny medical product used for self-medication must have the following characteristics:
- Contain an active substance suitable for self-medication with efficacy / safety ratio.
- Provide the patient with information about its indication in order to judge the appropriateness of the drug and to easily understand its use.
- To be used as part of an indication that is managed by the patient alone.
- Self-prescription drugs include "over-the-counter" medications (the pharmacist must agree to sale you that drug), "over-the-counter" in pharmacy without asking for any medical document or doctoral receipt.
Consider these tips before self medication:
- Be Attentive!.
- Follow the dosage (dose limit) carefully by reading the leaflet from the box / packing carefully.
- Do not forget, indications such as "at which time to take medicine like during or after the meal or with milk etc".
- Also note the expiry date specially if the medicine belongs to your drawer.
- Self-medication is strongly discouraged for pregnant or lactating women, people with chronic diseases, infants and children.
- Use that medicine for a short period of time: treatment should not exceed 5 days, unless there are special exceptions (smoking cessation, for example).
- Consult your doctor as soon as possible if symptoms persist or worsen.
- Monitor interactions and take care of contraindications. It is always advisable to seek advice from your pharmacist and to specify other treatments in order to avoid interactions. Alcohol disrupts the effect of many medications.
- Don't drink or don't take anything else which you think it can interact with medicine or cause a reaction.
- Remember your medicines with their INN (International Non-proprietary Name). This is the name of the active compound/ingredient(s) of the drug, different from the brand name. For example, Doliprane and Dafalgan are similar drugs and both of them are used for same treatment because they have the same active ingredient whose INI is Paracetamol. This habit also helps to compare prices and not to make mistakes abroad.
Thats all, now you know something about self medication. Please follow these guidelines and spread this information as to you loved one's. Self medication is getting popular in our society which is causing dangerous results. If you liked this post kindly this this or if you know something about self medication which we have missed, use the comment box bellow to give your input about self medication. We will be delighted to hear from you.
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