Self-treatment should be limited only to the elimination of trivial, current ailments. Some over-the-counter medications help instead - they can be very harmful. And others, which you swallow hoping to help, don't help. The classic example of a placebo is vitamin C.

In many homes, medications, including antibiotics, are left unused after treatment. We know theoretically that you cannot ordain them yourself, but the practice is often quite different. Whenever in the family of my friend, an otherwise sensible and educated person, someone falls ill, even seriously, she reaches into the drawer where she hasdrugsand chooses something appropriate (often antibiotics). Even his minor children are treated this way. She believes that her so-called life experience, reading leaflets (which luckily he does not throw away) and checking their expiry date. Is the fact that she has not poisoned anyone yet enough to prove that her method is good and effective? He always comes out with the bag stuffed to the brim. He's recovering somehow, but my observations show that it takes longer and longer, and he started to complain of stomach pains.

Limited range of OTC drugs

A drug bought without a prescription and without consulting a doctor is always a temporary, substitute measure. It is to make your life easier so that you do not have to go to the clinic. But its scope of use is limited. Most often, it improves well-being, acts symptomatically, eliminates pain,runny nose , hoarseness. Remember that nothing special treats you and that if it doesn't help within a few days - you need to see a doctor. If a drug is approved for sale by hand (OTC), it meets minimum safety requirements and can be used alone without any special dangers. Of course, you must remember that it is not 100% safe, because there are no such drugs.

Dangerous combinations of over-the-counter medications

There are a number of medications that are generally safe, but harm some. For example, people with peptic ulcer should not take medications containing acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin, polopyrin). Although approved over-the-counter, they can cause bleeding in ulcers. Cardiovascular disease is importantcontraindication to ingestion of popular cold medications - there is a risk of cardiac arrhythmias and a whole range of other serious disorders. Therefore, if you suffer from something chronically, you should absolutely not take anything without carefully asking your doctor if you are allowed to.

Do not succumb to superstitions

» There is no scientifically sound evidence that drugs designed to boost immunity actually do this. There is no evidence at all that they help for anything. They are only beneficial if there is a known impairment of the immune system, but such cases are very rare. In many countries, they do not exist at all and it is believed that taking them is a very risky matter (they can cause allergies).
» It is the same with vitamin C. Commonly used for coldsvitamin Chas no meaning in the treatment of viral and bacterial infections. It has been shown quite unequivocally in many scientific studies. The advice to take it with the first symptoms of a cold is superstition.
» Any autovaccines (made from the patient's own bacteria) are also dangerous. In Europe and in many other countries, they are not allowed to be performed at all. After all, it is a drug whose production requires extremely sterile conditions. And they are often made in primitive laboratories over which there is no control.

Important

Don't lose your head!

  • use recognized traditional home remedies
  • don't experiment with drugs you don't know
  • read the leaflets attached to the medications carefully and follow the instructions contained therein
  • take the drug according to the instructions, do not change the doses yourself. Carefully observe the time during which you can swallow the drug without consulting your doctor
  • do not take expired medications
  • be careful with alternative medicine methods
  • remember that self-initiated medications may affect the effects of medications prescribed by your doctor and are taken by you
  • do not take prescription drugs prescribed to someone else
  • do not decide on your own about taking antibiotics
  • be careful about measures that increase the body's resistance and stimulate the immune system

Get wet

If you have a he althy heart, you do not have high blood pressure and you are not particularly weakened, even if you have a temperature, you can usually recover from a cold by yourself. He must then drink a lot of fluids. With cough and runny nose - even a liter, one and a half fluid a day above the norm. Strong moisturizing is also very importantair, even until the windows fog up. Then it turns out that you don't need any expectorant drugs, because you've managed to control even the most exhausting cough. Remember that in a room with central heating the humidity is generally around 30%, and in the Sahara 40%.

Read OTC drug leaflets

When taking medicines from your home medicine cabinet or bought without a prescription at a pharmacy, you decide what to take, decide the duration of the therapy yourself and evaluate its effectiveness yourself. For safe self-treatment, you need a lot of knowledge - about the properties and effects of a specific drug, its dosage, duration of use and possible side effects or symptoms of poisoning. Therefore, carefully read the leaflets until the end.

You must do it

Consult a doctor:

  • if in doubt
  • if you don't feel better after three days of self-healing
  • if you notice symptoms not listed in the leaflet after taking the drug

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He alth