Medical experts caution Nigerians against self-medication, antibiotics abuse

Medical experts have warned Nigerians about the dangers of self-medication and misuse of antibiotics in the human body.

The experts handed down the warning on Monday in Enugu at a one-day sensitisation project on the Awareness of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR).

Winifred Maduko, at the University of St. Andrews in the UK, organised the programme.

The programme was part of the grassroots Interventions for AMR and Antibiotics Stewardship Project Public Engagement, aimed to raise awareness of antimicrobials and promote responsible antibiotic use.

AMR has emerged as a critical global health threat, severely undermining the effectiveness of antibiotics to combat infections and diseases. The World Health Organisation has identified AMR as one of the top 10 global health threats.

Ms Maduko stressed the importance of knowledge and information about the right use of antibiotics.

She said the public engagement project was done in collaboration with Afia TV, South Sahara, and social development organisations.

Ms Maduko said the project was currently being implemented in Enugu.

“We want to use this platform to create awareness to people in Enugu and beyond to know more about antimicrobial resistance and to get proper information that the misuse of antibiotics leads to antimicrobial resistance.

“We can increase knowledge about these drugs through public awareness, which is what we are doing today. We had over 60 participants who will go back to their communities and spread the news. They should understand that self-medication is very bad, especially as it regards to the use of antibiotics,” she explained.

Ms Maduko said Nigerians bought antibiotics over the counter, especially in rural communities, without minding the consequences on the body.

Ms Maduko noted that the government had mapped out some plans to fight against antimicrobial resistance and said that the major work lay on people as it concerned individual health.

Stanley Ilechukwu, the executive director of South Sahara and Social Development Organisations, Enugu, said individuals could reduce the risk of antimicrobial resistance through proper sensitisation.

According to him, one can make one’s illness worse by not having proper tests before going for medication, patronising roadside medical vendors and indulging in self-medication.

Mr Ilechukwu urged the public to get health insurance. He said the health insurance package would go a long way in making them visit hospitals for treatment.

Chioma Nwoba, a medical doctor, said when people did not take antibiotics appropriately, it would lead to antimicrobial resistance, which caused drugs to be impotent when they were abused.

A pharmacist at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, Kenneth Egwu, said that the causes of antimicrobial resistance included abuse of antimicrobials, using antimicrobials to rear animals, and exposure to infections.