Self-medication: what benefits, what risks?
According to the Council of the Order of Physicians, self-medication is defined as the use, without medical prescription, of pharmaceuticals... It is recommended when it comes to treating a slight pathology for a very short period of time, but "no prolonged use without medical advice" is what is noted on the packaging of products ...
Advantages
Of course, the principle of self-medication has advantages over the public debt by slowing down the Social Security deficit: it concerns pharmaceuticals not prescribed and therefore not reimbursed.
When it is used wisely, self-medication allows you to take responsibility for your health by informing you about the properties of pharmaceuticals. Of course, advertising is not unrelated to this phenomenon, the big pharmaceutical companies have understood it well ...
1st July 2008, the Minister of Health, Roselyne Bachelot, expanded the list of pharmaceuticals that could be purchased without a prescription from the pharmacist. To treat small symptoms, these pharmaceuticals allow to act effectively: fever, cough, colds, temporary constipation, headache, contraception, cold sores, smoking cessation, mouth problems ...
In addition, these pharmaceuticals are safe products that pose a very low toxicity risk. But of course, these risks are almost zero when the dosage is respected and they are taken punctually ... This is not always the case for some, because a drug is a drug, even if you buy without a prescription.
If there is the slightest doubt about one of your products, do not hesitate to ask your pharmacist for advice ... Avoid at all costs using pharmaceuticals coming from old prescriptions ...
Self-medication also saves money on your health budget, because it avoids the cost of a medical consultation, and moreover, it contributes to the decluttering of care services, to deal with really high priority cases.
risks
Self-medication is not unanimous in the medical profession. On the one hand, it does not take into account some known allergies.
On the other hand, during a medical consultation, forgetting to mention to your doctor that you have taken certain pharmaceuticals can cause a misdiagnosis, because these can delay some symptoms and especially distort the interpretation of biological results ...
Any consumption can lead to excesses. You can think about controlling this self-medication while in some cases, it produces side effects that can cause other diseases in case of contraindications not respected ...
Another problem can also complicate your state of health: it is the interaction with another treatment in progress ... Taking anti-inflammatories or aspirin can also inhibit the action of others pharmaceuticals.
Our advice
Before take a medication, read the instructions, explanations, contraindications and above all respect the dosage. If your troubles do not go away after a week, then see a doctor.
