Almost half of us take over-the-counter medications every day, and every tenth respondent admitted using them several times a week. However, do we know what self-medication is? What information are we looking for in the package leaflets for the drugs? And is the language describing medicinal products understandable to us? Let’s check.
We buy OTC drugs at a pharmacy
Self-medication, that is, the independent use of over-the-counter drugs (OTC drugs) plays an important role in the context of public health. Using OTC drugs in accordance with the indications, prudently and responsibly, not only positively affects our health, but also brings benefits from the point of view of the health care system.
We gain shorter queues at clinics and easier access to doctors for those patients who really need professional help. There is also the other side of the coin – improperly or too long used self-treatment can have a negative impact on our condition and lead to complications, especially when we combine different products incorrectly. Using the “Drugs without a prescription. Are you taking them safely? ”, Consisting of fourteen questions, we decided to check if we know about it and how we treat ourselves?
Almost half of us (47%) admitted that they use over-the-counter drugs every day, 30%. rarely, and 8 percent. never. The vast majority (88%) buy drugs in a stationary pharmacy, and another 8%. decides to buy over-the-counter drugs at an online pharmacy. This is good news – drugs from an unknown source can be falsified and, instead of helping us, can seriously harm us.
27 percent survey participants declared that they always consult a pharmacist when purchasing a drug. Another 27 percent. this is the case when they buy a drug without a prescription for the first time, and 16 percent. never asks a pharmacist for advice.
It should be remembered that in case of any doubts, the pharmacist will not only inform us about the correct use of drugs, but also indicate adverse drug interactions. It is an invaluable source of help, especially in the current epidemiological situation.
Leaflet is needed
94% are convinced that the leaflet attached to the drug is needed. respondents, and 86 percent. declares that he knows what information is listed therein. The more surprising is that only 64 percent. of us always read the package leaflet before taking an over-the-counter medicine. 23 percent Read the leaflet when they need information, and 12% when they first take an over-the-counter medicine. So the question arises, how to increase the awareness of patients and encourage them to read the leaflets even more actively?
It is worth remembering that the package leaflet contains the most important information about a given medicinal product, which you should absolutely read before taking it. What’s more, the package leaflet should be kept – so that you can refer to it in case of doubt. The consequences of using the drug not in accordance with the package leaflet may be severe poisoning, kidney and liver damage, slowing down your reflexes or concentration, which is especially important when driving a car or operating other machinery.
As part of the “Drugs without a prescription. Are you taking them safely? ” We also asked Poles what information they were looking for in the drug leaflet in the first place. Interestingly, the answers were different – for 31 percent. of the respondents the most important thing is dosage, next places are taken by: indications for use (20%), side effects (16%) and contraindications (13%).
Interactions with other products turned out to be significant for only 3 percent. probe participants. This is disturbingly little, the more that interactions may occur when drugs are combined not only with other drugs, but also with food, alcohol or herbs. The effect of such actions may be reduced effectiveness of the therapy and severe side effects.
The results of the probe also showed that the management of overdose or missed doses is not considered important information. This may indicate that Poles do observe the dosing of over-the-counter drugs or, more likely, they do not realize that both overdosing and skipping a dose of the drug may affect the effectiveness of the therapy.
The responses of the survey participants also indicate that opinions about the drug leaflet are different. Only 14 percent. found its formula optimal, 33 percent. believes that the most important information should be highlighted, 23 percent would introduce a language more accessible to the average patient, and 14 percent. would shorten the scope of information.
On the other hand, when asked about the preferred model of the leaflet, the vast majority (93%) of Poles turned out to be traditionalists and opted for its paper version.
Mistakes during self-treatment?
The responses of the survey participants show that although we do not read the leaflets often enough, we have a basic knowledge of the general principles of drug use.
79 percent of the respondents declared that they always check the expiry date on the packaging. This is important considering that drugs whose expiry date has been exceeded may harm us or not have a therapeutic effect.
When it comes to drinking medications, 74 percent. Poles rightly choose water. 14 percent decide on different fluids, and 9 percent. for tea. This is risky because the theine in tea has similar properties to caffeine, which can interact with various medications. The consequences of drinking drugs with tea include both the weakening of the therapeutic effect of a given drug and its severity, and thus an increased likelihood of side effects. When drinking tea with medicines containing theophylline, the risk of side effects such as headache, anxiety, insomnia, sleep disorders or palpitations increases.
Survey participants were also asked about situations involving the misuse of over-the-counter drugs. Thus, taking a drug without a prescription contrary to the recommendations (e.g. by increasing its dose, using it for longer than recommended) happens to 9%. subjects. On the other hand, taking medications out of habituation, longer than necessary, affects 7%. of us. Taking the drug despite experiencing side effects or despite contraindications in its use is rare – 3 and 2 percent, respectively.
To sum up, when it comes to responsible self-treatment, it is necessary to constantly educate in this area and build patient involvement in order to increase the safety of using medicines for the sake of health, which is the greatest priority for Poles. Let’s start with the first step in building responsible self-treatment – read the leaflets of the drugs we use.