The Prevalence and Determinants of Self-medication Pharmaceuticals Used to Prevent or Cure Disease Covid-19: A Middle Eastern Country\'s Experience

Received: 20-Feb-2023, Manuscript No. IJP-23-94120; Editor assigned: 22-Feb-2023, Pre QC No. IJP-23-94120 (PQ); Reviewed: 13-Mar-2023, QC No. IJP-23-94120; Revised: 22-Mar-2023, Manuscript No. IJP-23-94120 (R); Published: 30-Mar-2023, DOI: 10.37532/2249-1848.2023.13(2).43

Description

By the end of 2019, China has reported an outbreak of severe viral respiratory illness, which had spread to the rest of the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) classified the illness a pandemic in March 2020. The pathogen was later identified as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV2), and the sickness was dubbed Coronavirus Disease 19 (Covid-19). The disease's symptoms range from asymptomatic to severe and life-threatening. Coughing, sore throat, weariness, and fever are moderate symptoms, whereas trouble breathing, chest discomfort, and disorientation are serious symptoms. Individuals with severe symptoms or deteriorating diseases required hospitalization; some required special care, while others died. The majority of patients admitted to the hospital had hypoxia, respiratory acidosis, opacity/infiltrate on imaging, and elevated inflammatory markers. There is no definite therapy or cure is known, despite the fact that multiple treatment regimens have been developed and implemented by various nations or hospitals. Also, no vaccination was available until recently, when Pfizer/Biotech received the first listed vaccine for WHO emergency use authorization on December 31, 2020, followed by other vaccines from other firms later on.

In these conditions, the general people sought information from all sources, both local and worldwide, in order to find a cure or prevent contracting the sickness. Simultaneously, other media outlets focused on specific therapies and medications offered by various publications or health authorities throughout the world to cure or prevent Covid-19. These medications included hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin and other antibiotics, as well as Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs), vitamins, and others. This knowledge was widely disseminated, leading to the general public stockpiling or utilizing these medications. As a result, self-medication increased in many regions of the world during the epidemic.

This may be shown by looking at the trend in global online searches for phrases like "self-medication," "self-care," and "self-administration," which showed a proportionate rise in Google hitsduring the epidemic. In reality, because of the enormous strain placed on many nations' health-care systems as a result of the pandemic, numerous health agencies, including the WHO, issued guidelines to the general population on how to handle mild to moderately ill Covid-19 patients at home. Using pharmaceuticals without medical supervision, on the other hand, is a dangerous practice since it can result in major drug interactions, adverse pharmacological effects, concealing severe sickness, antimicrobial resistance, and the risk of dependency and misuse.

As a result, the WHO has advised individuals to exercise caution when taking certain pharmaceuticals or home remedies to treat Covid-19, and it has also posted various drugs thought by the general public to cure Covid-19 on a "Mythbusters" webpage to contradict this claim. Jordan, a Middle Eastern country of 10 million people, announced the first case of Covid-19 in March 2020. Over 15 months, the pandemic caused over 700,000 morbidities and over 9500 deaths. Prior to the pandemic, self- medication was documented among Jordanians who utilize a variety of drug classes and dosage forms, with or without a prescription. Jordanians, like other nations, are required to respond to pandemic- related news and updates in terms of recommended treatments or cures, and to take action to treat or protect themselves. As a result, the goal was to assess the types of medications and therapies utilized by Jordanians to self-medicate/self-care during the pandemic, as well as the reasons for their self-medication, information sources, and variables influencing their practices. Understanding these characteristics can assist policymakers during epidemics and pandemics in understanding the people's motivations for using certain medications, the variables influencing their actions, and the most important source of information on the public.

Self-medication is widespread in Jordan and other countries. It is not unexpected, however, that during times of crisis, like as the present Covid-19 outbreak, this habit is exacerbated, especially in a nation with limited resources like Jordan. Social media may have also led to the transmission of a large quantity of incorrect information regarding the efficacy of numerous accessible prescription treatments, over-the- counter pharmaceuticals, vitamins, and minerals. False information concerning improper prescriptions circulated on social media, where it was propagated and adopted by the general public and even healthcare professionals. They include paracetamol, large dosages of vitamin C and D, zinc, hydroxychloroquine, and so on. A quarter of our subjects (24.5%,n=289) obtained knowledge regarding self-medication medicines through social media. People may resort to self-medication methods during health emergencies for a variety of reasons, including lower prescribing costs, fear of infection, and limited availability/access to pharmaceuticals. In this survey, paracetamol and other vitamins such as vitamin C, zinc, and vitamin D were the most commonly utilized medications. It was concerning, however, that people self-medicate with prescribed medications such as azithromycin and aspirin. Self-medication, if unmonitored, might deteriorate the patient's health and postpone obtaining medical guidance from healthcare experts. Efforts should be made to assist limit the hazards of self-medication via active participation of pharmacists and other members of the healthcare team in refuting bogus drug claims, particularly in the media. Self- medication patterns can also be improved by educating the public about the dangers of irrational drug usage. Additionally, rigorous controls should be enforced to prohibit the use of non-prescription medications in community pharmacies. To do this, Jordan's pharmaceutical care system must be altered to facilitate only prescription based medication.