I have since concluded never to use or administer any drug on myself or anyone else for that matter without professional medical advice or prescription. My marriage was blessed with a baby girl immediately after the tenth month of our wedding. As the baby girl began to grow, we noticed that she had cattarrh, something that felt natural.
When she clocked eleven months, we intensified the use of a certain brand of drugs that helps clear catarrh but we never knew we were just endangering the health of the little damsel.
Not long from when our daughter was to clock one year, with top preparation for a parlour birthday party that will be attended by our family members only, I took ill. I was so broken that I could barely leave my sleeping space for about two days. My temperature was so high that it could boil an egg. Since it was my usual symptom for malaria, I requested my wife to buy me a malaria drug and make sure there was a dose of chloroquine in it.
Chloroquine was the most popular malaria drug back then in some families, they always had a bottle kept in their archives in case of emergency.
My wife wasted no time in getting the drugs as she was the only one taking care of our daughter and I. As soon as she arrived with the drug, I rose from my bed and took the drugs and fell asleep shortly.
About an hour or two after I had slept off, I started to feel some itches under my feet. It became intense all over my body as I scratched and scratched with a teary eye. For a whole day, I couldn't take my bath as the itching continued. My wife became so afraid that she called my uncle who lived a stone's throw from our apartment.
Uncle Joe, after examining me, drove me to the clinic at the entrance of town. My wife bumped into the car with our daughter and all the drugs we have been using. When we arrived at the clinic, the doctor on call duty requested for the drugs we have been using while a medical test was carried out on our daughter and I.
It was deduced that my daughter only needed vitamin A to get cured of the catarrh while my case was typhoid and not malaria. The doctor warned us never to attempt using a drug, not even for the smallest headache without a medical prescription. That was the height of the day for me. And for the itching, he mentioned that chloroquine is no longer in use as more malaria drugs have been produced for human use and malaria drugs.
My dear friends, I remember applying palm oil as body cream to ease the itching but it only persisted.
We were ad iced never to withhold medical attention I advice whenever we have a symptom in our health as self-medication can cut the life of people short. The doctor emphasised that:
Medical Interaction
He said that some drugs cannot be used with another because of their contents. He mentioned that they could have adverse side effects which can lead to deformation of body parts or pose a danger to the organs in the human cells. As he mentioned this, I froze on my sit and asked him if the one I used had caused anything to my organs. He only laughed and asked me to avoid self-medication forthwith.
Overdose
Here, he mentioned that when a doctor recommends a drug, a pharmacist will prescribe how the drugs will be used as in dosage. Most times, people just jump on their experience and prescribe or recommend a certain drug or dosage to their vulnerable friends, neighbours or even relatives. The best advice you can give to any individual who has a medical issue is to see professional medical attention. Today, overdose drug intake has sent some people to their early graves, we should hence steer clear from using drugs without professional prescription and use them to avoid overdose.
Addiction
Sometimes, all we need may not be drugs but food and supplement to help us heal a certain medical case. The case of getting to use a particular drug because we have used it before and gotten used to it may become an addiction which could be dangerous to health. The doctor told me that even the common use of paracetamol could be dangerous to the kidney. As it has become the culture of some to use brands of paracetamol for a common headache or pain relief.
He further stressed that a layman could misdiagnose himself and recommend the wrong medication for a health issue. And also mentioned that some drug producers can sue a user of their drugs who did not seek professional medical advice before use.
From that day, I learned to keep my knowledge about drugs aside and to always seek professional medical attention before the use of drugs.
