Instead of visiting a recognised medical facility, some people rely on self medication as an ‘easy way’ of finding solutions to their health problems. They may get instant relief but medical practitioners have said that self medication could be harmful.

Some parents in rural areas prefer giving their wards medicine at their discretion without necessarily understanding what such prescriptions could do.

One of the challenges of self-medication is how some people recommend over-the-counter drugs to others after they believe a particular medication had been effective for their ailment.

Some persons have become ‘personal pharmacists’ who decide what dose of medication someone else could take. The lack of professional diagnosis is believed to be the cause of other health complications or even death.

Some experts say over-the-counter (OTC) medicines may have serious side effects if inappropriately used. This is the reason individuals must rely on medications sold under a doctor’s instructions.

The directions for the use of prescribed drugs are usually indicated by a doctor, after which they are double-checked by the pharmacists, packaged, before they are sold out to clients.

This, I believe, is the most effective way of finding solution to any health problem other than relying on buying drugs without any proper diagnosis, so we should be more cautious.

Margaret Baidoo,

Student, Ghana Institute of Journalism.