Self-Medication—Benefits and Risks

By Awake! Correspondent In Brazil

“WORLDWIDE the self-medication market is expanding,” claims the president of a large pharmaceutical company. “People want to be in control of their own health.” Although this may be so, are there any risks you should be aware of?

Of course, if used properly, medicine can bring relief. For example, insulin and antibiotics as well as even the inexpensive and simple formula of oral rehydration therapy save countless lives. The challenge of self-medication is to determine when the benefits outweigh the risks.

Admittedly, in some lands qualified medical aid may be either too far away or too expensive. Hence, many people rely on the opinions of friends and relatives or on self-help books for information regarding medication. Also, “publicity campaigns convey the idea that through the purchase of a simple capsule, it is possible to have health and well-being,” says Fernando Lefèvre, a professor at São Paulo University, Brazil.a As a result, to overcome the effects of overwork, poor nutrition, and even trivial emotional problems, many resort to drugs. Lefèvre adds: “Instead of improving the quality of their life, people try to solve their problems with products off the shelves.” And who knows if the patients even have the right diagnosis?

Besides using medication to treat such illnesses as headaches, hypertension, and upset stomach, many resort to medication to cope with anxiety, fear, and loneliness. “People seek the help of a doctor because they think that a pill will solve the problem,” says Dr. André Feingold. “Even health professionals are inclined to prescribe formulas and recommend countless tests. There is no effort to get to know the history of the patient, who in the majority of cases has a chaotic, stressful, and unwholesome life-style.” Admits Romildo Bueno, of the World Council for Prevention of the Abuse of Psychotropics (drugs that alter perception or behavior): “There is limited time to see patients, and the doctor gets rid of the person, treating only the symptom.” Using drugs “is a medicinal way of [solving] social problems.” However, another doctor cautions that many patients do need carefully prescribed psychotropic drugs.

After discussing the “Prozac Fad,” the Brazilian daily O Estado de S. Paulo says: “A remedy that becomes a fad, just like a new hairstyle, is, to say the least, strange.” It quotes psychiatrist Arthur Kaufman: “Lack of perspective and purpose in life creates a phenomenon that makes an effective remedy the salvation from all ills.” Kaufman adds: “The human being is becoming more and more concerned with immediate remedies, and therefore, having lost interest in finding the causes of his problems, he prefers taking a pill to solving them.” But is it safe to self-medicate?

Self-Medication—A Risk?

“One of the striking characteristics in the medical field in the 20th century has been the development of new drugs,” says The New Encyclopædia Britannica. But it also says: “Probably more poisoning is due to medicines than to any other cause.” Indeed, just as medicine can cure, it can also harm. Anorexia diet pills “act on the nervous system and therefore can trigger such adverse symptoms as insomnia, changes in conduct, and in some cases even hallucinations,” explains writer Cilene de Castro. She adds: “But anyone who thinks that anorexia pills act only as appetite inhibitors is fooling himself. One capsule may be the beginning of a vicious circle of remedies, each one neutralizing the effect of the other.”

Many commonly used drugs can cause irritation of the stomach and even nausea, vomiting, and bleeding. Certain drugs can be habit-forming or cause damage to the kidneys and liver.

Even popular health products may be suspect. “This fad for vitamin supplements is extremely dangerous,” warns Dr. Efraim Olszewer, president of a Brazilian medical association. “Not only is the population medicating itself but some uninformed doctors are prescribing dubious formulas, disregarding the dangers involved.” Another doctor, however, states that vitamin supplements in appropriate doses may be necessary or beneficial in treating certain illnesses and deficiencies.

Safe Self-Diagnosis—How?

Since we cannot see a doctor every time we feel discomfort, health education and rational self-medication can be beneficial to our families. However, before any medication is taken, correct and effective self-diagnosis is vital. If there is not a doctor nearby or you cannot afford to see one, consulting an adequate medical reference book might help you to make a correct diagnosis. For example, the American Medical Association publishes a family medical guide that includes a 183-page section of symptom charts. These lead the patient through a series of questions that can be answered either yes or no. By this process of elimination, a problem can often be identified.

But what about the role of doctors? When should we seek professional help? How can we avoid the extremes of being either too worried about our health or negligent? Really, in a world where illness and psychosomatic sickness are prevalent, how can we enjoy a measure of good health?

[Footnote]

[Blurb on page 4]

“There is no effort to get to know the history of the patient, who in the majority of cases has a chaotic, stressful, and unwholesome life-style.”—Dr. André Feingold

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Herbal Home Remedies

For thousands of years, people in many cultures have treated their sicknesses with herbal remedies, using plants found in the fields and forests. Even many modern drugs are made from plants, such as digitalis, which is used for treating heart problems. Thus, Penelope Ody, a member of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists in the United Kingdom, states in her book that “there are more than 250 safe treatments to help alleviate common complaints—from ordinary coughs, colds, and headaches to special treatments for skin conditions, digestive problems, and children’s illnesses.”

She writes: “Herbalism has always been regarded as the ‘medicine of the people’—simple remedies that can be used at home for minor ills or to supplement more potent remedies prescribed by professionals for chronic and acute conditions.” She continues: “Although most herbs are intrinsically quite safe, they should be treated with respect. Do not exceed stated doses or continue with home remedies if conditions are persistent, are worsening, or if the true diagnosis is in doubt.”—The Complete Medicinal Herbal.

How Can You Enjoy Good Health?

THERAPIES are a popular topic of conversation. It seems that nearly every friend or neighbor has a pet solution to each medical situation. Understandably, the urge to self-medicate can be very strong. However, there are people who “seek a doctor only when the condition is critical,” says a Brazilian doctor. “They may have lesions on the skin that do not heal despite months of self-medication. When they do seek a doctor, it is found that they have a kind of cancer that should have been treated in the beginning.”

Since early diagnosis often saves lives, delay can cost dearly. “A 30-year-old woman experienced delayed menstruation and moderate pain in the lower abdomen. She self-medicated heavily with analgesics and anti-inflammatories, and the pain decreased,” relates a surgeon. “But three days later, she suffered hemorrhagic shock and was taken quickly to the hospital. I operated on her immediately, diagnosing pregnancy in the Fallopian tube. She was saved just in time!”

A young woman in São Paulo thought that she was anemic, but her problem was chronic kidney insufficiency. Because she delayed treatment, a transplant became the only possible solution. Concludes her doctor: “Often the patient hesitates to seek medical treatment, self-medicates or looks for other means indicated by laypersons, and ends up with serious health problems.”

Certainly, we do not want to minimize the signals our body conveys. Yet how can we avoid being obsessed with therapies or self-medication? Health is defined as “the condition of being sound in body, mind, or spirit” or as “freedom from physical disease or pain.” Interestingly, it is acknowledged that to a greater or lesser degree, today most diseases are preventable. According to Dr. Lewis Thomas, “far from being ineptly put together, we are amazingly tough, durable organisms, full of health.” Hence, rather than ‘becoming healthy hypochondriacs and worrying ourselves half to death,’ we should cooperate with the body and its extraordinary ability to heal itself. A competent doctor or health practitioner may also help us.

When to Seek Medical Aid

A Brazilian doctor suggests professional help “if such symptoms as fever, headaches, vomiting, or pain in the abdomen, thorax, or pelvis do not subside with ordinary medicine and recur frequently without any apparent reason or if pain is acute or very intense.” Another doctor recommends medical aid whenever we are unsure about how to deal with our symptoms or feel that something is different from other times. He adds: “When a child becomes sick, instead of medicating the child themselves, parents generally prefer to get professional help.”

But are drugs always necessary? Will the use of drugs be counterproductive? Are there any side effects, such as irritation of the stomach or damage to the liver or the kidneys? What about interactions with other drugs? “Few patients view their own problems unemotionally or even perceptively,” says The New Encyclopædia Britannica. Yet, a conscientious doctor can help us see that all drugs are potentially harmful and that there are few drugs used today that have no side effects. Just read the warnings of possible side effects on the label of the next prescription drug you buy! Even over-the-counter medicine can cause harm or death if used improperly or overused.

The need for caution is emphasized by a report by Richard A. Knox in The Boston Globe: “Millions of arthritis sufferers who take daily painkillers are at risk of sudden and potentially fatal bleeding, Stanford University researchers report.” He adds: “Moreover, the researchers warn, combining the painkillers with antacids or popular acid-blocking pills does not protect against serious stomach complications and may even increase the danger.”

What about common self-medication? Says a doctor in Ribeirão Prêto, Brazil: “I think it would be very beneficial if all could have a small home pharmacy . . . However, these medications should be used with good judgment and common sense.” (See box, page 7.) Also, basic health education contributes to a better quality of life. Since conditions differ with each person, Awake! does not recommend specific drugs, therapies, or natural remedies.

Good Health—What Can You Do?

“The best doctors in the world are Doctor Diet, Doctor Quiet and Doctor Merryman,” wrote Jonathan Swift, an 18th-century author. Indeed, a balanced diet, proper rest, and contentment are important ingredients in good health. In contrast, despite the claims of clever advertising, we cannot buy good health just by taking drugs. “Unnecessary and even dangerous use of pharmaceutical products” may weaken the immune system.—Dicionário Terapêutico Guanabara.

However, by assuming responsibility for our life-style and avoiding drug abuse, smoking, heavy drinking, and too much stress, we can do much to improve our well-being. Says Marian, in her 60’s and a longtime missionary in Brazil: “I have enjoyed reasonably good health by living moderately and eating a variety of healthful foods.” She also explains: “I generally like to get up early, so getting to bed early is essential.” Common sense and good habits should not be minimized, neither should the importance of periodic medical checkups and good communication with a qualified family doctor.

Although wanting to remain healthy, Marian is careful neither to neglect her health nor to be overly concerned about it. She says: “I also pray for Jehovah’s guidance in any health decisions I need to make, so that I may do what is best in the long run and not spend excessive time and resources in attempts to improve my health.” She adds: “Since keeping active is vital, I pray that God help me to be reasonable as to how I use my time and my strength, so that I do not spare myself unnecessarily and, at the same time, do not go beyond my limits.”

To be truly happy, we cannot ignore the future. Even if we are favored with relatively good health now, disease, pain, suffering, and eventual death remain. Is there any hope that we will ever enjoy perfect health?

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Benefits of Balanced Self-Care

Your health to a large extent depends on what you eat and drink. If you try to run a car on watered-down gasoline or add sugar to the gas, you will soon ruin the engine. Likewise, if you try to survive on junk food and junk drink, you will eventually pay the price in impaired health. In the computer world, this is called GIGO, which means “garbage in, garbage out.”

Dr. Melanie Mintzer, a professor of family medicine, explains: “There are three different kinds of patients: those who consult physicians for things they could just as easily manage by themselves at home, those who use the health-care system appropriately, and those who don’t consult physicians even when they should. Those in the first group often waste physicians’ time and their own time and money. Those in the third group may risk their lives by delaying appropriate professional care. Doctors wish more people were in the middle group.”

“The seven keys to optimal health are: eat and drink right, exercise regularly, don’t smoke, get adequate rest, manage your stress load, maintain close social ties, and take prudent precautions to reduce your risk of illness and accidents.”—Before You Call the Doctor—Safe, Effective Self-Care for Over 300 Medical Problems, by Anne Simons, M.D., Bobbie Hasselbring, and Michael Castleman.

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A Home Medicine Chest

“It has been estimated that about 90 percent of the symptoms—aches, pains, bruises, and other signs of discomfort or disease—felt by otherwise healthy adults are simply shrugged off and never reported to anyone. . . . Often some quick remedy is used, like 2 aspirins for a headache.”

“What often makes this all possible is the home medicine chest. It saves needless and costly trips to the doctor or clinic.”—Complete Home Medical Guide, The Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

This same source recommends a home medicine chest that includes Band-Aids, tape, sterile gauze pads, cotton balls, bandages, various ointments and creams, antiseptic rubbing alcohol, scissors, an oral thermometer, and other practical items.

For medications, it recommends pills to reduce fever and pain, antacids, cough syrup, an antihistamine/decongestant, a mild laxative, and antidiarrheal medication.

[Box on page 8]

A Word of Warning

“Even though they don’t require a prescription, OTC [over the counter] medications are real drugs. Like prescription drugs, some should not be combined with others or with certain foods or alcohol. Like other drugs, some can mask more serious problems or cause dependency. And sometimes an OTC drug simply should not substitute for a visit to the doctor.

“Nevertheless, most are safe and effective . . . They do the job and do it well.”—Using Medicines Wisely.