Self-medication, sometimes called do-it-yourself (DIY) medicine, is a human behavior in which an individual uses a substance or any exogenous influence to self-administer treatment for physical or psychological conditions, for example, headaches or fatigue
From Wikipedia
Most of the substances used for self-medication are dietary supplements, antibiotics, pain relief, and over-the-counter drugs. Most of the drugs individuals use to self-medicate do not need a doctor's prescription before they can be purchased. Even most of these dietary supplements can be obtained from the supermarket and some local stores without a doctor's prescription, hence promoting the abuse of.
I'm sure everyone would agree with me that every Nigerian parent is a doctor who has a certified doctor's degree, lol. You can never complain of stomach pain or toothache or even a headache that there won't be any remedy waiting for you. The funny thing was how these home remedies always worked.
We always had some drugs and agbo in the house, and my dad knew so many herbal medicines so whenever we took ill, we didn't have to go to the pharmacy.
I feel that everyone should have at least one or two self-medication in their house in cases of emergencies. There might be a time when you might wake up to a severe headache in the middle of the night and you wouldn't have the ability to even walk or find where to get drugs, on the other hand;
Self-medicating for very mild pain or headache Is dangerous. Sometimes we get a headache because we need rest and good sleep. Most of the time it's because our body needs water. Since we can buy these drugs whenever and wherever we want, we abuse them. Hence, they stop working when we really need them.
Self-medicating is very bad because it can end up taking your life. I remember one time when my aunt self-medicated tramadol because it was part of her prescription that the doctor had written for her.
The doctor gave her a prescription for 5 days and after completing the prescription, she said she wasn't feeling too well, and since there was extra tramadol left, she took it to feel better. After taking it, she almost ran mad, I will never forget that day. It was funny yet scary.
It was late at night when the drugs kicked in and all the stores were already closed. We had to go to our other compound to pluck coconut around 1am for her to drink before she was able to vomit.
She slept around 4am, and honestly, that's just evidence that self-medicating isn't good at all. Imagine we didn't have coconut water to give to her? I'm sure she would've landed in the emergency ward that night.
Sometimes self-medicating can end you up in the hospital and might also end up taking your life. It is better to seek a doctor's prescription than self-medicate, even if it's a supplement.
Unless you're in a tight spot, like when you have a severe headache in the middle of the night, or you start throwing up, then you can self-medicate, but the self-medicating antibiotic is a NO!!!
Thanks for reading ❤️
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