We drink medicines in any doses without taking into account the state of health and possible side effects. Therefore, the passion for self-treatment often leads to self-injury.
... In recent years, the flow of information about a variety of drugs and badges has collapsed. This is related to both practically uncontrolled advertising drugs, and with the development of the Internet. About any sore, you can learn information in the World Wide Web, they will also advise there how to cope with it at home.
In Russia, somehow accepted, if unhealthy, first consult with relatives, friends, neighbors. There are no such traditions in Europe, where they immediately go to the doctor, because there is insurance, and not to use it is unreasonable. In addition, for the West resident, the appeal to the doctor is a convenient process. We also have a lot of time going to Eskulapu, which is spent not so much for a survey and diagnosis, as in standing in the queues. Busy patients, especially Muscovites, often do not withstand "walking in stages" and prescribe their treatment themselves. Chairman of the League of Patients Alexander Sabersky sees the reason for the popularity of self-treatment in a bad health organization and in the low availability of drugs, especially expensive. The General Director of the National Distribution Company Nastasya Ivanova, in the opinion of which, the reason for the prevalence of self-treatment is not only in reluctance to stand in large queues, but also in the backwardness of modern state medicine: "In the post-Soviet years, when the financing of medicine has been reduced, the level of trust has fallen sharply to domestic healthcare. Visitors Polyclinic often complain about the inattention and non-professionalism of the doctors of the state clinics, but few of them can depose treatment in private medical centers. Another problem is the possibility of buying prescription drugs in the pharmacy, without having a recipe on the hands. "
In Europe and the United States, all prescription drugs are sold strictly by recipe. Oddly enough, our laws provide for the same procedure, but many drugs registered as prescription are freely sold in pharmacies or via the Internet. Officially registered non-receptible drugs in Russia, the list of which Ministry of Health and Social Development reviews annually, quite a bit - only 22-25% of the total turnover. And up to 80% of drugs in Russian pharmacies should be sold on the recipe! Which is quite comparable to European standards (for example, in the UK, the share of non-receptible drugs is 20%).
Meanwhile, according to expert estimates, approximately 70% of drugs are sold without a recipe in Russia. It includes narcotic analgesics, potent and psychotropic drugs - their sales are subject to objective and quantitative accounting by recipes that should be stored in a pharmacy for 5 years, so the offense is easy to calculate. At the same time, antibiotics, analgesics, anti-inflammatory agents (aspirin, nurofen, paracetamol, etc.), hormones, antiallergic, contraceptives, drugs for the treatment of impotence, weight loss, etc. should be released by recipes that do not remain in pharmacies. For example, all (!) Antibiotics sold in Russia are registered as prescription drugs. But only the units are obtained by the recipes of doctors. Due to the fact that the people treat with antibiotics all in a row, even ARVI, growing the problem of spreading the stability of microorganisms to antibacterial drugs - that is, once effective medicines simply cease to act on causative agents of diseases. This problem has already acquired the universal scope and recently became the key theme of the WHO Conference.
- self-treatment becomes common practice and in countries with a developed healthcare system. According to WHO, death from improper use of drugs occupies the fifth place, yielding only diseases of the cardiovascular system, injury, oncological and pulmonary diseases, - says the editor of the portal Pharm-medEmExpert.ru Ivan Danilov.
WHO is even developing programs for learning competent self-treatment. We have no such programs. Although in self-medication there are even pros. But, the doctors emphasize, if it comes only about light diseases or their prevention, and only with the help of non-delicate drugs. In this case, the load on the polyclinic is reduced (especially in countries such as Russia, where they are developed weakly). Today, in any Russian family there is a first-aid kit, which is stored, often years, without compliance with the "limitations", several dozen drug names for any cases. Of course, to cure cough house is not difficult, but pain in the heart, stomach, ORVI to avoid heavy, and sometimes the deadly complications should not be treated independently. "Self-treatment must be shortly if the disease is delayed, you should consult a doctor," says Nastasya Ivanova.
Experts are not recommended to get involved in self-learning. Reception even non-prescription drugs in horsepower doses or with violations of the rules specified in the instructions can harm the whole organism. In addition, the symptoms of the development of a serious illness can be hidden for easy disadvantage, which can be launched. Therefore, with the slightest doubts you need to contact a specialist.
Self-examination using prescription drugs, specialists are sure, absolutely unacceptable, since all prescription drugs have a powerful therapeutic effect and a wide profile of possible adverse reactions and contraindications. Their uncontrolled reception is a serious threat to health and even the lives of patients.
- It's wrong when antibiotics are sold freely, "says Sabersky. - I saw in the pharmacies of my chest babies, who are asked to advise the child "some antibiotic from a cold", and pharmacists advise! We do not have a culture of drug consumption, and practically unlimited advertising of the pharmaceuticals allows unscrupulous people to preserve in diseases. Many drugs are attributed to non-existent properties. According to WHO experts, 40% of drugs in the Russian market do not have proven efficacy and security (and this is not counting the bid), and some of them have fallen into lists of vital! Recently, the Health Deputy Minister Veronika Skwortsov said that such medicines in Russia - 80%! The question is how to separate drugs that treat, from those that cripple? ..
For many years, officials are threatening to introduce responsibility for the free sale of prescription drugs. This can turn into another headache for patients - even more exorbitant queues in clinics. However, the experience of Western countries to stimulate patients to receive recipes is known. So, in Germany, all prescription drugs for children under 18 are issued at the expense of medical insurance, it is financially encouraged to receive recipes even for medicines that are released without a recipe. In Italy, the patient is reimbursed by the value of all medicines written by the doctor. However, we have conversations about the introduction of the dosage insurance system recently subsided.