When the sick bypass doctors

Whatever the justifications for bypassing the doctor’s office, self-medication can lead to complicated health issues which are most times hard to reverse. Drugs are chemicals which are not free of side effects. When taken inappropriately, some become poisonous injuring internal organs such as the liver, heart or the kidney depending on the kind of toxins that affect them. Waako says self-medication has led to unnecessary deaths from treatable diseases and contributed to resistance to a number of antibiotics something that has raised the cost of medical care.

After taking her cocktail of herbs and self-prescribed drugs, Neema says she usually gets heartburn. She seems to be experiencing adverse side effects and Dr. Balikuddembe says such problems can be countered when patients consider the contraindications of the medicines they take. He says doctors get this by taking a patient’s history before initiating them on drugs.

For instance, he says,if quinine – a malaria drug- is taken in the first trimester of pregnancy, there’s a likelihood of a miscarriage because the drug causes uterine contractions. For some, especially children, the doctor says some drugs concentrate in the teeth and bones and are the reason some infants have tooth decay and ulcers.

Safe self-medication

However, there is ‘responsible’ self-medication which involves use of drugs that experts have recommended to be accessed over the counter. Prof. Waako lists pain killers like Panadol, cough syrups and oral contraceptive pills. But he says they can be used for a limited time as one prepares to seek proper medical attention.

The ideal would be that the person self medicates after being trained on how to administer the drugs especially for the diabetic.  Doctors say when one has diabetes, they are trained on how to administer the drugs themselves. For instance before every meal, one is supposed to treat themselves following proper guidelines given by a doctor.

Even though it’s recommended for one to have some medicines as first aid in the house, doctors say most Ugandans actually keep medicines that are leftovers from a previous uncompleted dose. Such drugs, doctors say, should not be kept because they are only enough for use for a particular episode of the illness. Different diseases require unique management approaches even though they may present the same symptoms.

To remain safe, drugs have to be kept under special conditions that are not easily achievable at home. Households should also always remember the risk of accidental drug poisoning especially with children using drugs kept in houses.