The UAE-based doctor explains the advantages and disadvantages of over-the-counter medicines and why self-diagnosis will land you in big trouble.
Read the full story here: https://gulfnews.com/special-reports/breathlessness-hives-cough-allergies-these-uae-residents-are-in-serious-trouble-with-over-the-counter-medicines-1.1692787612361
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#UAEnews #health #medicines
Read the full story here: https://gulfnews.com/special-reports/breathlessness-hives-cough-allergies-these-uae-residents-are-in-serious-trouble-with-over-the-counter-medicines-1.1692787612361
See more videos at https://gulfnews.com/videos
Read more Gulf News stories here: https://bit.ly/2HLJ2km
Subscribe to Gulf News on YouTube and watch more of our videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/GulfNewsTV
#UAEnews #health #medicines
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NewsTranscript
00:00OTCs, as all of you must be aware, are over-the-counter medications.
00:11These are medications that are usually deemed safe enough to be used for day-to-day ailments
00:17that plagues us, like colds, coughs, pains of different kind, allergies, vomiting, diarrhoea,
00:25to name a few.
00:26OTCs are important because they reduce the burden of healthcare, as well as it makes
00:34sure that patients are not inconvenienced by needing to visit a clinic or a hospital
00:39for a prescription.
00:40They are, in general, safe to use, but the caveat is that they need to be used in the
00:44right dose, for the right indication, and for the appropriate period of time.
00:48However, even OTC medicines can cause serious harm if you probably take it in too much of
00:55a dose, or if you're going to take it for too long.
00:57Also, it's very easily possible for you to inadvertently double-dose yourself using
01:03medications like paracetamol or anti-allergic medications, because these are commonly present
01:12in most of the cold and flu medications that we get.
01:15When most people get a cold, they go to the pharmacy and pick up a cold and flu medication,
01:20and on top of it, they take paracetamol and add some anti-allergic medications, in the
01:24belief that all these medications taken together might help you to cut short the duration of
01:29illness.
01:30But on the other hand, it just increases the risk of side effects with the OTCs.
01:35Also, OTCs can be allergic to OTCs, and they can cause allergic reactions to them, and
01:43also the OTCs can have interaction with various food, alcohol, or caffeinated beverages that
01:50you're going to take these OTCs along with.
01:53Please remember that herbal medications and alternative medications also come under the
01:58category of OTCs, and if you're going to take those along with the usually dispensed
02:04OTCs, then that can also lead to interactions and harm.
02:08And in those who are already taking prescription medications, in them, it's a tricky thing
02:14when to use OTC medications, especially if prescription medications are generally, like
02:21for example, if people are using blood thinners, and those who are using blood thinners, if
02:26they need to take, for example, painkillers, and if they go ahead and take ibuprofen if
02:30you've not taken previously, it is possible that, at least theoretically, that they can
02:35cause serious bleeding from the stomach, and that can be sometimes potentially fatal.
02:42So it's important for people on prescription medications to check if their OTC medications
02:46are safe to use along with prescription medications, which can be inquired from your pharmacist,
02:51or you might have to inquire the doctor to find out if this is okay to take.
02:56There's also the risk of addiction to OTCs, as the commonest example is a very popular
03:03nasal spray, which in this part of the region, many people are addicted to this particular
03:08nasal spray, while it's actually not supposed to be used for more than three to five days
03:11at a stretch.
03:13And so is the practice with many cough syrups.
03:16People are actually addicted to many cough syrups, and some of them use them to even
03:19get on the high.
03:20So in this part of the world, at least, since most of these medications, commonly present
03:26medications come under the category of restricted medications, so that doesn't happen here,
03:31but cough syrups can be abused very easily.
03:34OTCs generally also have some side effects which people need to be aware of before taking
03:39the medications, and before they actually want to see if these side effects are worth
03:45taking it for the symptoms that they have.
03:47A very common example is some cold and cough medications can cause drowsiness, especially
03:53if taken at a higher dose.
03:55And in certain categories of individuals, these same cold and cough medications can
03:59cause them to lose their sleep.
04:02They could remain awake throughout the night.
04:04So it's very paradoxical that the same cough and cold medication, cold and flu medication,
04:09can cause the opposite effect.
04:12And these cough and cold medications also can cause hyperactivity in the younger age
04:16groups.
04:18So hence, while OTC medications, again, are generally useful medications, it's not all
04:24rosy picture with OTCs.
04:27So if one falls ill, it's very important for us, very important for them to be prudent
04:34and wait and watch for a few days, and use some of the time-tested OTCs like paracetamol,
04:42probably if you have a cold and cough, drink lots of fluids, and wait and watch, and depend
04:47on the body's healing power, trust sometimes the healing power more than the medications,
04:52and see if things settle down.
04:53But if it doesn't, then a visit to the hospital or the clinic probably is in order.
05:00Self-diagnosis at the end is always dangerous, and so is Dr. Google or any other AI-based
05:08diagnosis.