According to the statistics, there is still a lot to catch up on, especially with regard to the health literacy of Czechs. The health literacy of only one in ten citizens of the Czech Republic can be described as excellent. Health literacy is sufficient for less than half of people. It is problematic for one third of the population and completely inadequate for 13% of people. So say the statistics. According to the doctor of pharmacy, it is important above all to know what problem we want to solve.
„We should know if the symptoms we want to influence are rather milder and do not correspond to a serious disease. So we should know whether what we want to solve no longer belongs to the doctorwe should know how long we can treat the given symptom, if it is a short-term, acute and relatively minor health condition and change, so we can engage in self-medication, but in the case of chronic diseases, it is always necessary to carry out or at least have certain examinations carried out by doctorswhether practical or professional,” said a pharmacy expert at the Epicenter, adding that it is very important to monitor the patient’s condition.
Warning signs
„A certain warning signal that could reverse a chronic disease at a given moment can be neglected and to speed up the treatment far more, and if there is no communication between the professional staff, the specialist doctor or the general practitioner and the patient, then at this moment, we are actually getting outside the framework of self-medication, which is definitely not good for the patient,” pointed out the doctor and added why it is important to start self-medication on time.
A fundamental deterioration of the condition
„If these were conditions where, due to insufficient intervention of self-treatment, we might overlook the possibility of stopping the development of that symptom, then a fundamental deterioration of the state of health may occur, a significant allergic reaction may occur on the skin, so if the patient knows that he is sensitive to certain allergens, whether they are skin or food allergens, he can ensure that a significant allergic reaction does not occur by early intervention using self-medication . This is, for example, also an intervention if we are dealing with pain. In the event that acute pain is treated fairly quickly, there is no development of an inflammatory reaction, no tissue destruction in the area of the damage,” added Marek Lžičař.
Children react faster
According to Lžičara, self-medication is also suitable for children. You just have to think about certain restrictions that are important compared to the adult population.
“With children, we always solve the problems with regard to the time or the duration of the symptoms, usually it is stated if the duration of the symptoms of the disease is in the order of days, i.e. 1-3 days, then we can still intervene in this. If it is longer, it is better to consult a pediatrician and prevent possible complications. Children very often react much faster to a given medicine, so if the dosage is correct, if the dosage takes into account the child’s weight, the child’s state of health, and actually follows the package leaflet for the specific medicine offered, then nothing should happen,” added the doctor and added recommendations to parents or those who care for children to they closely monitored changes in health status even after administration of over-the-counter preparations. And they reacted more quickly to any worsening of the situation.
„In adults we have a tolerance of, let’s say, a week for most symptoms, in children we should be very carefulí if, for example, the state of health does not change within 2-3 days or, on the contrary, it worsens,” concluded Marek Lžičař.
