But self-medication is very dangerous for us, explained Dr. Ana Stemate (Metropolitan Hospital) in a given interview Ziare.com.
The doctor also highlighted the danger of associating alcohol with paracetamol, but also listed various foods that should not be consumed during treatments.
What are the risks for those who take over-the-counter medications?
A significant percentage of the population takes over-the-counter medications, especially for minor symptoms. The risks they are subject to are very high, among them being the postponement of the presentation to the doctor in case of an emergency, the incorrect choice of medication or doses, ignorance of side effects that may occur and in case of drug abuse may even addiction or overdose. .
How dangerous is it for people to take medication after reading about it on the Internet?
The habit of people diagnosing themselves by reading on the Internet is extremely dangerous, because the Internet is like a huge library and if you do not have the necessary training to judge things in context, important mistakes can be made that lead to the wrong medication.
For one patient, what works for another does not necessarily work. The patient’s age, associated pathology and concomitant medication should be considered. Even Natural medicines, which are presented as without side effects, can be dangerous if administered unjustifiably.
Can we destroy the intestinal flora or weaken the immunity due to self-medication?
Unjustified administration of antibiotic treatments can alter the intestinal flora, making us more sensitive to certain very dangerous bacteria, such as Clostridium Difficile and, in addition, we select strains that develop antibiotic resistance and later when the patient has a serious infection for which requires antibiotic treatment we will be surprised that it no longer responds to treatment.
What are the biggest pitfalls when it comes to self-medication?
The biggest pitfalls of self-medication are not using the right medications and the right doses and not knowing the side effects that can occur and the complications of not recommending the medication.
There are people who take certain medications, such as aspirin or paracetamol, for any minor pain. Is there a risk that when it is really needed they will not take effect? Does the body develop too much tolerance?
Over time, they may become accustomed to certain doses and may have to increase the doses for the same effect, increasing toxicity and even addiction, especially in the case of drugs that contain several substances (for example: paracetamol and codeine, paracetamol and tramadol, etc.). .
You were talking about addiction. What drugs that Romanians frequently use without a doctor’s recommendation are addictive?
There are substances from the usual nose drops or cough syrups to cancer drugs that can be addictive if not used according to the doctor’s recommendations, both in terms of dose and duration of therapy. For example: nose drops should not be used for more than five days. Morphine or codeine painkillers should be used at the recommended dose.
Other medicines that Romanians frequently use are sleeping pills, anxiolytics and antidepressants. They should be taken at the dose recommended by your psychiatrist. Increasing the dose by the patient is dangerous, because the well-being, peace of mind that the patient acquires when the dose increases will no longer feel at the same dose and will increase little by little and then have to be hospitalized in a detox center. .
Can you give us some examples of medications that should never be used at the same time?
Some medications cannot be given at the same time either because they potentiate their effects or because they decrease their effect. In particular, these complications occur in those taking treatment for chronic diseases and an acute event occurs for which they take certain medications.
For example: aspirin or other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs should be avoided in those with oral anticoagulant treatment, as they increase the risk of ulcers and even upper gastrointestinal bleeding.
In patients with cardiovascular disease, the combination of beta-blockers with calcium blockers may increase the risk of hypotension or bradycardia and also in those with oral antidiabetics may increase the risk of hypoglycaemia.
The effect of contraceptives is reduced by certain antibiotics such as ampicillin, doxycycline, clarithromycin etc.
Iron preparations and antacids are never given in combination with tetracycline antibiotics., because their absorption decreases and must be administered at a distance of 2-3 hours.
How important is nutrition when we go into treatment? Do we need to be interested in foods that can interact with drugs?
It counts the association of some foods with certain drugs and in these cases the patients are warned by the specialist doctor and these interactions are signaled on their leaflet. Alcohol is never associated with paracetamol because it increases liver toxicity. It is also not associated with sedatives, antiepileptics and certain antibiotics.
Salt is forbidden in association with cortisone medication, given for certain autoimmune diseases.
The component naringenin, from the grapefruit fruit, slows down some of the normal metabolic detoxification processes that take place in the intestines and liver, blocking the action of decomposition and elimination of some drugs and other toxins, therefore when prescribing certain drugs (antivirals, benzodiazedines, etc.) the consumption of grapefruit is forbidden, for the correct determination of the drug dose.
Dairy products are not associated with tetracycline antibiotics, because they block the absorption of these drugs in the digestive tract and must be administered remotely.
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