Self-medication simply refers to the practice of using prescriptions or over-the-counter drugs without discussing the symptoms of one’s ailment with a medical doctor.
Self-medication is a human behavior in which an individual uses a substance or any exogenous influence to self-administer treatment for physical or psychological ailments.
It is now a common practice for individuals to self-administer treatment without consulting a medical practitioner, and lacking knowledge of the negative effect that the drug will have on them if mis-used or not taken correctly.
As different drugs have different effects, they may be used for different reasons. According to self-medications hypothesis (SMH), the individual’s choice of a particular drug is not accidental or coincidental but instead a result of the individual psychological condition, as the drug of choice provides relief to the user specific to his or her condition.
There are reasons why some people may want to resort to self-medication other than discussing their symptoms and physical ailments with a trained medical professional.
One of these reasons may depend on their personal situations. Individuals may attempt to hide their current condition in plain sight or may be a substance to mask their condition from others.
Another reason for not consulting a doctor may also be an attempt to resolve the issue to avoid consultation fees or as a direct result of personal fears associated with a medical diagnosis.
There may be good reasons why most persons don’t go to medical doctors to discuss their ailments, but it is inexplicable to avoid seeing a medical doctor considering the risk involved in self-medication. This is more so as drug is not taken correctly becomes drug abuse. And if a drug is abused by an individual it becomes very harmful to the health of that individual.
In as much as people take self medication for short or long term relief which works for them, it should be avoided because of the negative effects it will have in future.
Self-medication or drug abuse can lead to addiction. It is a well known adage that every addiction is bad and if an individual becomes addicted to particular drug it is very dangerous to the health, but if you see a medical doctor, he or she will know what to do to your health condition so that you will not get yourself addicted to a particular drug.
According to Duncan drug dependence is an avoidance behavior where an individual finds a drug that produces a temporary escape from a problem and taking the drug is reinforced as operant behavior. Specifically, addiction is hypothesised to function as a compensatory means to modulate effects and treat distressful psychological states, whereby individuals choose the drug that will most appropriately manage their specific type of psychiatric distress and help them achieve emotional stability.
Drug abuse or self-medication can lead to legal problems. This means that using certain drugs to treat yourself which are not legalised in your country can attract a litigation or you can be arrested by the law enforcement agency for using contraband drugs. These drugs might either be pharmaceutical or recreational drugs which an individual uses to self-medicate for depression, etc. These drugs cause euphoria and thereby improve your mood but this can lead to incorrect self-diagnosis, which is not good for the health of an individual. We need correct diagnosis from a medical professional to be able to tackle an illness and if the wrong diagnosis is given, it will have a negative effect on the individual as it will affect the treatment of the ailment.
Self-medication causes delay in seeking medical advice. There are certain ailments that require medical advice, if a medical doctor is not consulted immediately, the illness might worsen and at that point treatment will be very difficult which might even lead to the death of the individual.
Self-medication or drug abuse can lead to severe adverse reactions. Some drugs if not taken properly can cause severe reactions like un-prescribed intake of antibiotics may cause bone marrow toxity, asthma and potentially dangerous skin rashes. Also,  pain killers, when taken on an empty stomach or in combination with alcohol, have been found to lead to serious untoward effects. Also Aspirin has been found to cause bleeding from the stomach and intestines if not taken correctly or might even cause deafness on prolonged use. All these reactions are gotten from unprescribed use of some of these drugs, but if a drug is taken with the advice of a doctor, for instance, some ailments might require that some drugs should be taken on an empty stomach but if an individual should take drugs on an empty stomach without the advice of the doctor the reactions are usually dangerous to the health.
Also self-medication can lead to incorrect dosage and when the right dosage is not taken, it will have negative reactions on the individual. It is either an under dose or over dose of a drug is taken. If it is under dosage the illness or ailment will not be treated and if it is overdose it will have a negative effect on the individual or might even cause the death of the individual.
Also, some people, especially children, abuse some drugs by taking an overdose without knowing its negative effects on them.
Also, excessive intake of other drugs causes damage of the kidney, heart and other organs of the body.
Finally self-medication also leads to incorrect manner of therapy. When the best for a particular illness is not used, the illness will not be properly treated, but if a medical practitioner is been called upon, he will be able to carry out the necessary test and know the best therapy to be used.
Nevertheless, individuals should endeavour to consult a medical doctor and discuss the symptoms of his/her illness with them so as to avoid the risks or dangers involved with self-medication and drug abuse.
Nyeche is an intern with The Tide