Over 52 per cent Indians indulge in self-medication, a practice bearing severe health risks and a trend that is increasing due to either time constraints or the perception of doing away with the doctors’ fees, as per a survey conducted by Lybrate, a doctor-patient end-to-end communication platform.
For the survey 20,000 respondents were reached out to in 10 cities across India and now, to take its fight to the people, the company has recently launched a nationwide campaign – Say No to Self Medication – to spread awareness about its ill effects. Un-prescribed medicines are known to make the body resistant to antibiotics besides causing heath problems including liver damage, stroke and ulcers to kidney failure, miscarriage and diarrhoea, among many others.
Speaking about the problem Dr. (Prof) Jagdish Prasad, Directorate-General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, said: “In India, self medication undoubtedly is a big problem. People do not check with doctors before taking a pill in cases of minor health problems. They take medicines on their own, forgetting that this might have adverse effect on their health. Given the scenario, the launch of the campaign is a great initiative.”
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In India, easy availability of over-the-counter drugs for minor health ailments are leading to the menace of self-medication, notes the survey, adding that people take pills based on the suggestion of chemists, friends or just by themselves depending upon their past experiences.
“The Internet boom has further worsened the situation with people going online to search about possible options of medicines for their health problems. The practice of self-medication is rampant in India. People fail to understand that this carelessness does them more harm than good,” noted the survey.