Health alert: If you have been popping pills on your own, stop right away!

If you have the habit of popping a paracetamol every time you get a headache or taking a strong pantoprazole tablet whenever you feel your tummy to be upset, then you are amongst those 52% Indians believing firmly on self medication. In a survey conducted by Lybrate, a doctor-patient end-to-end communication platform, it has been shown that 52% 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.

In the wake of the disturbing outcome of the survey, in which over 20,000 respondents were reached out to in 10 cities across India, Lybrate had taken up the issue of a practice prevalent so deeply in India, something for which people relatively do not care much about.

There have been numerous studies worldwide that show how taking un-prescribed medicines time and again make the body resistant to antibiotics. Besides, there have been instances where such a thoughtless practice has caused health problems ranging from liver damage, stroke and ulcers to kidney failure, miscarriage and diarrhea, among many others. Sometimes, the damage is irreversible and such unpleasant happenings due to lack of awareness make self-medication a bigger problem in front of the humanity.

In India, easy availability of over the counter drugs for minor health ailments are leading to the menace of self-medication. 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.

To bring a full stop to the menace, Lybrate is launching a say-no-to-self-medication campaign where the company will touch base with over 2000 chemists in Delhi-NCR, educating and urging them to spread the campaign message to their customers and peers. The campaign will also be run on the social media involving to garner maximum attention.

(Image: Reuetrs)