Self-medication: a health hazard

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Extract from the article: Self-medication is the practice of taking one or more medicines on one's own initiative, in the absence of a doctor's prescription, or by knowingly modifying the protocol of a prescription. In Togo, according to a survey carried out in 2003, 93% of t

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Self-medication is the practice of taking one or more medicines on one's own initiative, in the absence of a doctor's prescription, or by knowingly modifying the protocol of a prescription. In Togo, according to a survey carried out in 2003, 93% of those questioned admitted to having self-medicated in the three months preceding the survey.

Self-medication concerns all categories of people. It ranges from the poorly educated to those with a higher level of education. It concerns both men and women. « In Togo, the majority of people who practice self-medication are between 17 and 35 years old. Unfortunately, self-medication also affects children. In fact, many mothers give their children medicines without a medical prescription », reveals Dr Jean-Claude Bakpatina, General Practitioner at the Floréal clinic in Lomé.

Consequences of self-medication

Self-medication has a number of health consequences, including: « drug toxicity or ineffectiveness due to non-compliance with dose and dosage, the possibility of masking symptoms leading the doctor to miss his diagnosis, the emergence of resistance to antibiotics and antimalarials, for example, and the occurrence of drug interactions and their consequences », stresses Dr. Jean-Claude Bakpatina, General Practitioner.To these health consequences we can add the waste of resources invested without convincing results.Different forms of self-medication 

In addition to self-medication, where the patient or a family member fetches the product directly from the pharmacy without a prescription, there is also pharmacy advice, which authorizes the pharmacist to recommend certain medicines.This is how pharmacists dispense medicines such as paracetamol and certain vitamins.

The GP explains that self-medication can involve drugs sold in pharmacies or street drugs. « Both forms are used by patients, but it's the second form, where the patient fetches the products from the street, that's the most dangerous. A patient puts himself in danger twice over. They're putting themselves in danger because of self-medication, and they're putting themselves in danger because of street medicines, the quality of which has not been checked », says Dr. Bakpatina. emphasizes Dr Bakpatina.

There is also evidence of overuse of certain self-medication drugs. These include sleeping pills, analgesics such as tramadol (used by motorcycle cab drivers) and aphrodisiacs. These various drugs can lead to « addiction, dependence and other effects, including heart attacks », insists the GP. 

Precautions to avoid self-medication

To avoid self-medication, always consult an authorized prescriber, such as a doctor, medical assistant, nurse or midwife. « When in doubt about dosage, always ask for advice.Some patients swallow ovules or gynaecological tablets when they are intended to be introduced into the vagina.Others, for example, swallow effervescent tablets without first dissolving them in half a glass of water, or worse still, some hypertensives take effervescent drugs with a high salt content when they shouldn't », advises Dr Jean-Claude Bakpatina. For all these reasons, the role of the pharmacist is emphasized.

William O.