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Pharmacy
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What is Self Medication?
• Self-medication can be defined in
simple terms, as “the use of
medicines by a person by himself/
herself for treating a perceived or
real health problem without
consulting a physician or
pharmacist”.
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Pharmacy
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What is self-medication?
• An attitude…
– Self-diagnosis
– Self-expertise
– Self-prescription
• ..widely adopted by
any one
– Paediatric care
– Usual conditions
• …impossible to forbid
• …potentially
dangerous
– Improper use of
prescription drugs
• Pharmaceuticals
adapted to a self-
prescription use, are a
way to reduce risks
– Adapted dosage
– Adapted package size
– Adapted consumer
information
• Products adapted for
a self-medication use
reduce the risk of self-
medication as an
attitude
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Pharmacy
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Why do we go for self
medication?
• The lack of time to go to a physician,
• Inability to afford physician’s fees,
• Relatives/friends’ advice/insistence to buy a
particular medicine based on their experience,
• Increased awareness of availability of medicines
and use for appropriate conditions through
advertisements, awareness campaigns and
information over the Internet,
• Also, the general tendency is to momentarily
suppress the minor symptom/condition rather
than wanting to go to the root cause of it because
of hidden fears, cost factor, busy schedule etc.
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Pharmacy
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Which are the medicines for
self medication?
• Medicines for self-medication are often
called 'non-prescription' or 'over the
counter' (OTC) medicines, and are
available without a doctor's prescription
through pharmacies.
• They can have side effects, and thus
should also be used with care.
• Reckless and irresponsible self-
medication without proper knowledge is
always dangerous and sometimes can be
fatal too
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Pharmacy
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What is Responsible Self
Medication?
• Responsible self-medication is when one
self-medicates with medicines after being
well informed about their safe and
effective use and their appropriateness for
a particular condition.
• Responsible self-medication is one of the
first lines of self-defense in health care,
and being the most accessible form of
health care, it fulfills a series of valuable
and sometimes crucial functions for
individuals and healthcare systems.
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Pharmacy
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Example of self
prescription…
• Taking Erythromycin or any antibiotic for a
sore throat just because you were
prescribed the same, the last time you
had the same condition.
• Always remember that similar symptoms
in different people or in the same person
at different times may not have same
cure. It may require different medicines &
only your doctor can decide.
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Pharmacy
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Dangers of Self Medication
• Have you ever noticed that right from
popular magazine editors to your
domestic servant thinks that he or
she is a medical authority?
• If you have a fever, cold, cough,
constipation or indigestion, your
friends or even total strangers
volunteer advice on medicines to
take like expert physicians
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Pharmacy
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When do we practice self-
medication?
We buy
medicines …
Could this be harmful? Pharmacist’s advice
After reading/
viewing an
Advertisement
somewhere
(TV,
newspapers,
posters in
shops, etc.)
•Advertisements may
not necessarily give all
the information about
medicines regarding
their safe use, dosage,
how long to take, when
not to take etc.
•E.g. Advertisements for
most medications
promoted for cold
symptoms do not
mention that they
contain an ingredient
that could cause a rise in
Blood Pressure.
Take the advice of pharmacist or
doctor to find out if the medicine is
safe for you and if it is appropriate
for your condition. And if yes, in
what dosage to take it, at what
times, and for how long. Do not get
unduly influenced by advertisements
or commercials, and do not have
blind faith in their contents.
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Pharmacy
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self-medication. . . . cont
Opinion &
insistences of
Relative/ family
member/
friend/ peer/
neighbour
based on
his/her
experience, or
his/ her
perception/
belief.
•Every individual’s constitution is
different, though symptoms seem
alike it could be a sign of a different
disease altogether.
•The treatments for the same
symptoms in different individuals
could be different depending on the
person’s age, weight, sex, and extent
of condition. Also, any other
diseases/disorders that the person
might be suffering from, will
determine the line of therapy.
•E.g. if you find that your B.P. has
gone high, your friend who also is
hypertensive might recommend his
medicine for you. This is not a very
wise thing to do as firstly these
medicines are prescription medicines
and should be taken only when
prescribed by a doctor specifically for
you based on the grade of
hypertension, age, other prevailing
conditions, etc.
Incase of an OTC (non-prescription)
medicine, take the medicine after
being well informed about the
medicine’s indications, side effects,
contraindications, and administration
details. You could read the product
literature before taking it or ask your
pharmacist for advice.
Always take prescription medicines on
the prescription of a doctor, i.e. after
checking with the doctor. Do not self-
medicate with prescription medicines.
It could be hazardous.
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self-medication. . . . cont
You have
used the
medicine
before (either
on the
prescription of
a doctor, or
on your own,
or on advice
of a peer)
Using medicines
again and again
amounts to misuse,
which can be
dangerous, and
moreover, can be
fatal when you
decide the dose and
duration of
prescription
medicines.
For OTC medicines you can use
the medicine only after making
sure the medicine is
appropriate for your condition,
and after being well informed
about the medicine. You can
ask your pharmacist before
taking the medicine again.
Do not misuse prescription
medicines as they can do harm
if taken without medical
supervision.
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Pharmacy
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Can the development of self-
medication be an answer ?
–It relieves public health insurance
budgets…
–But:
–It transfers the financial burden to
patients…
–It reduces health care professional
monitoring…
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Pharmacy
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Slack implementation of
Drug Control
• The availability of potent and
dangerous drugs has increased
considerably
• Even certain prescription drugs are
available to the lay person without
the physician's advice
• Dangerous drugs like the antibiotics
and the hormones can be procured,
without a valid prescription.
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Pharmacy
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How to avoid or minimize the
dangers of self-medication
• The lay person should be educated about the
dangers of indiscriminate use of drugs.
• The physicians should be more judicious in
prescribing, and must insist on drugs being
supplied by the chemist only on a valid
prescription.
• A proper statutory "Drug Control" must be
implemented, rationally restricting the availability
of drugs to the public.
• These three measures would definitely reduce
the incidence of drug-related mishaps, and help
in maintaining good health of the individual and
society.
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Pharmacy
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So, Self medicate but with
care…
• Self-medication is a positive
change that provides a number of
benefits to the individual as well
as the society. But it is also
important to draw a line
somewhere while choosing for a
remedy appropriate for your
condition.
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Pharmacy
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Take care…
Issued in Public Interest by :
Indian Pharmaceutical Association,
Kalina, Mumbai- 400 098
Email: ipacentre@ipapharma.org
or
ipacpd@yahoo.com
