Self medication can be risky

Popped a painkiller for a headache, took a crocin the moment you felt feverish or a tablespoon of cough syrup to rid that sore feeling in the throat — we all have resorted to such self-medications from time to time.
While most of the time nothing happens, there is always a greater risk attached to self-medication, say doctors.
Sriram Achrekar, 55, who has been suffering from osteoarthritis preferred to live on painkillers instead of visiting a doctor for more than six years. Achrekar is now suffering from chronic kidney failure and has got severe gastro problems.
Dr Shreedhar Archik, orthopaedic surgeon, Lilavati Hospital, said, “Unprescribed painkillers can cause kidney failure. It is dangerous when people think they don’t need to see the doctor again when an ailment reoccurs and just continue taking the pills that were prescribed to them the first time round. People with long-term ailments like Rheumatoid Arthritis turn to alternative therapy like Ayurveda. These contain quantities of metals which could lead to kidney failure.”
Today, over 7,000 drugs and drug combinations are available. Many of them have been released for general use and are sold directly to the public as over-the-counter (OTC) remedies.
The most misused drugs are the analgesics or pain relievers while the most common ailments for which people resort to self-medication are headaches, colds, fevers and digestive problems — diarrhoea, constipation or acidity.
“Cough syrup is the second-most common medicine taken by people as and when they feel like. Being alcohol-based it has addictive powers and generates a high in people. Cough expectorants (syrup that can thin the cough) can also cause the pulse to quicken and that’s why one needs to a consult doctor before taking these,” Dr Pratit Samdhani, general physician, Jaslok hospital said.
“What people overlook in self-medication is that they are at higher risk of overdosing their body with active ingredients that multiply, which can cause serious acidity or stomach cramps. Popping painkillers for a long time can be toxic to the liver, heart and kidneys. Some painkillers are banned, yet are available over the counters. They can cause gastric problems, ulcers.”
Most of the time, people refer to old prescriptions in case they get similar symptoms or prefer taking medicines that were prescribed to a relative with similar symptoms instead of visiting the physician.
According to doctors, this can be dangerous as the combination of drugs that suits one person may not suit someone else and affect him/her adversely. Also, taking the same drugs repeatedly can make the body immune to them, making a person increase the dose to feel any relief.
Antibiotics are the third-most abused medicines. Their use without consulting a doctor can lead to formation of high-resistant bacteria.
Dr Arun Jamkar, vice-chancellor of Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, says, “The abuse of antibiotics and its side effects has reached alarming proportions. If not controlled, this can lead to disastrous results. For basic ailments, people either resort to self-medication or go to chemists who give them high-end antibiotics, which are not required. The viruses then develop resistance and the medicines don’t work, which means, should anyone get that disease later, it would be difficult to cure that person.”
Self medication had been a major problem while handling malaria cases in the city last monsoon. The civic body had to launch an awareness programme to stop people from going for self-medication for fever and visit doctors instead.


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