KARACHI: A health expert has warned citizens to stay away from self-medication as it can cause severe adverse reactions, and hides severe diseases.

Dr. Ruqaiya S. Qureshi, an executive of a private pharmaceutical company, was speaking at the 57th ‘Public Awareness Seminar on Self-Medication’ held at the Dr Panjwani Centre for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research (PCMD), University of Karachi here on Friday.

Dr Panjwani Centre and Virtual Education Project Pakistan (VEPP) jointly organised the seminar with an objective to raise public awareness about important current challenges facing Pakistan.

Dr Qureshi said that self-medication was defined as the selection and use of medicines by individuals to treat self-recognised or self-diagnosed conditions or symptoms.

She pointed out that health was a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

In most illness episodes, self-medication was the first option which made it a common practice worldwide, she said, adding that use of medications without prior medical consultation regarding indication, dosage, and duration of treatment was referred to as self-medication.

Consequences of self-medication included incorrect self-diagnosis, delays in seeking appropriate medical advice, potential adverse reactions, worsening of the condition, dangerous drug interaction, masking of severe diseases and risk of dependence and abuse, the expert observed.

The most common health issues in Pakistan included malaria, tuberculosis, dengue fever, cancer, ischemic heart disease, stroke, diabetes, hepatitis, HIV/AIDS, maternal and child health, acute respiratory infection, hypertension, asthma, diarrhoea, and mental health, she pointed out.

Talking about nutrition, she said that nutrition was input and a foundation for health and development, saying that healthy food and diet made a body fit and immune to diseases.

She said that freedom from hunger and malnutrition was a human right.

Published in Dawn, February 22nd, 2020