Avoid unprescribed medicines

The first time Fatimah had a severe stomachache, she went to the pharmacist, who gave her a medicine with butylscopolamine. It worked, and the 28-year-old Saudi woman started to take the medicine whenever she had cramps
However, Fatimah related to Arab News, “after a couple of months, I got respiratory problems and chest pain.” She consulted a doctor at the hospital, who found out that the medicine had triggered an asthma attack.
This is just one of the numerous complications that occur as a result of people taking drugs without a doctor’s prescription. In Saudi Arabia, it is not uncommon to obtain medicines, including antibiotics, anxiolytics and even anti-diabetic drugs, from the pharmacy without prior consulting a doctor. Citizens give various arguments for doing this, ranging from the cost of consulting a doctor to simply not seeing the need of obtaining a prescription.
This custom, however, puts not only the health of the customers — and their children — in jeopardy, but risks immunization of certain bacteria, something that concerns the whole society.
Take the example of antibiotics. Most people don’t know that there are different antibiotics to fight different bacteria, the most famous being penicillin. Using the wrong type may actually increase the infection. The myth that a simple cold or influenza can be cured with antibiotics is also widespread, although the drug only kills bacterial and not viral infections. Taking antibiotics in such cases will merely harm your body, as these medicines also destroy benign bacteria.
Another mistake people often make is to stop taking antibiotic drugs as soon as the symptoms are gone. In many cases, the infection is still there, and stopping too early may lead to resistance of the germs to the medicine. This has consequences for the whole society, as everyone getting infected with the mutated bacteria will need stronger antibiotics to be cured.
Mohammad, a 45-year-old Saudi, is currently facing the consequences of taking medicines without his doctor knowing. “I suffered from a severe pain in my back, and sometimes I couldn’t even move,” he said. He consulted several doctors, who gave him various medications, but none of them solved the problem. “Consequently, I decided to ask the pharmacist for a strong medicine, which he gave me.” It worked, and Mohammad since then has visited the pharmacy every now and then to get the medicine. The side effects, however, were not petty: “I developed a chronic stomachache and suffered weight loss, and doctors have no idea how to stop these problems.”
A quick survey in several pharmacies in Jeddah revealed that most of them sell antibiotics without prescription, despite its illegality. When customers request them, the pharmacists simply ask what type they wish. Some don’t even try to find out what infection the customer is suffering from.
One Egyptian pharmacist, who did not want his name to be published, said he saw no problems in selling antibiotics to people who have no prescription. “As a qualified pharmacist, I find out what type of antibiotics people need and for how long they should take them by asking them to describe the infection,” he explained. “If people have to see a doctor first, they will have to wait and pay a lot of money, while I am perfectly able to give them what they need!”
When asked if he was aware of the increasing resistance among germs as a result of the misuse of antibiotics, the pharmacist answered: “I know about the risk of resistance, but this only happens when people take antibiotics too often. Therefore, I always ask customers when was last time they took antibiotics, what type they used and for how long.” He conceded that people could lie about this or visit another pharmacy every time they want to buy antibiotics. However, he opined that in that case, the responsibility lay with the customers.
In conclusion, none except one pharmacist saw any problems in selling antibiotics to people without a doctor’s prescription. Some even admitted selling anxiolytics and anti-diabetics to clients, although they claimed to do this only when they knew the customer was already taking those medicines.
What is causing this situation? Obviously, the Ministry of Health does not allow pharmacists to sell certain medications, including antibiotics and anti-diabetic drugs, without prescription.
In the first place, there seems to be a lack of control. If pharmacists who break the law were confronted with severe fines, they obviously would think twice before selling such products.
Another problem, however, is that pharmacies are profit-making companies. They are primarily interested in financial gain, not in their customers’ health. Go to any pharmacy and ask for, let’s say, a cough syrup, and the salesman will give you the most expensive he has. The same goes for painkillers, muscle creams, nasal sprays, etc.
In order to eliminate the phenomenon of people buying medicines without prescription, pharmacies should be regulated more tightly by posing fines on pharmacists who do not adhere to the laws of this country. Although this already happens, inspection tours should be held more frequently.
However, it is not only the authorities that are responsible for curbing the habit of buying medicines without prescription. It is also important that citizens become aware of the risks this habit carries, both for their own health as well as for the society as a whole. Medicines are not a candy, and the more your body relies on them, the less it is able to heal itself.