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Self doctoring dangerous
2007-10-07 10:52:43
By Peter Mwangu
Many of us become our own doctors to malaria. Diagnosis is literally done at the liberty of the patient, prescription is equally vested on the patient and administration of the drug is finally proposed and taken by the same patient. We have gone that far, and the doctor is mercilessly ignored.
``It is fatal. Get to a doctor to determine what should be done to you. Do not allow short cuts to health and medical issues,``advises a seasoned medical professional. Medical doctors do not want to invite a fiery battle on this sensitive issue of self-doctoring.
Their flexible approach is based on the level of understanding of an individual on the complexity of the disease which registers 80 percent of all diagnoses in the country.
Some medical experts believe that the malarial drugs are harmless if taken properly, but the question lies in how a self-treating patient determines what is a proper dose?
There are also those who maintain that every drug is scientifically poisonous, that it should never be taken without the authority of a medical doctor. ``That explains why a medical doctor never treats himself whenever he catches an illness.
He will seek the expert service of a fellow doctor,`` suggests a study by this newspaper when Dr. Emmanuel Kombe, a Clinical Officer at Sinza Palestine Health Centre, cautioned against unauthorized medication because any medicine is poisonous.
Dr. Kombe also told this newspaper that cases of kidney and liver failures were on the increase because of taking drugs without the advice of the medical specialist.
``Biologically, our kidneys and the livers are the organs responsible for clearing any toxic substances that might have entered our bodies either accidentally or willingly,``he insisted.
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