Medicine abuse

Medicine overuse

The right use of medicines from patients is a serious issue and the responsibility of their briefing on this subject burdens the doctor and their pharmacist.

However, the patients themselves many times experiment trying to help either themselves or others, taking medicines without medical advice.

The worst happens when they receive simultaneously other medicines and without having the essential knowledge, this medicine overuse can lead them to abuse. The serious consequences of medicine overuse are based in the interactions of medicines.

Examples through the experience of pharmacist which concern medicine overuse and medicine abuse:

• Paracetamol can be received simultaneously for headache with a product for the confrontation of the common cold (paracetamol in combination with nose decongestant) resulting in overdose of paracetamol.

• There are products which contain the same drastic substance. However the production company is different. An example is the non-solid anti-inflammatory ones that are contained in plenty of products and lots of patients can receive simultaneously two or even more. Usually this happens because they receive them for different indications. In these cases the patient is in danger of overdose.

• Many times patients ask for a specific medicine because somebody from their familiar environment receives it (not a specialist) or because they read or heard about this medicine.

• Patients who take antibiotics arbitrary without medical advice.