Self-medication is described as the free use of medicines without a prescription. Some errors that can occur through this free will can have serious health consequences and even death. Sometimes there are errors when dealing with analgesics and antibiotics. Kregar and Filinger, 2005 state that:
The competent authorities of each country must guarantee the safety, quality and efficacy of medicines and are responsible for authorizing and monitoring the marketing of medicines.
The medications free sale to the public are called OTC ("Over the Counter"), they are in direct communication with the public, and allow people to read the indications contraindications, and to choose between brands of laboratory components among others. Some medications in which there are usually greater consequences or errors are analgesics and antibiotics, the former contribute to kidney failure, and frequent use without prescription is classified as an error of self-medication. Antibiotics, constitute a high percentage in some countries as erroneous self-medication for example:
Some patients present some pathology that refers to an infection in which the doctor treats this disease with an antibiotic, but the patient does not take the number of doses indicated per day for a defined period of time. Now, when the disease disappears, the patient keeps some pills that were left of this occasion and when he returns to present this or another disease that presents an infection, they go to this reserve of pills of the previous disease, ingesting them without any knowledge of the root of the illness.
Health professionals such as pharmacists, should make known the advantages and disadvantages of self-medication and the responsibility that comes with the body of each person who consumes them. Therefore, pharmacies should give informative talks on all these aspects fulfilling the commitment with the consumer of:
- Self-medication should be carried out under the advice of a pharmacist and with its own responsibility in the case of OTC.
- For other types of treatment, we must consult the specialist doctor.
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