Thrissur: Spurious drugs flood the market during monsoon which brings in its wake diseases like cold, fever and epidemics. Those who go in for self-medication consume a lot of non-branded generic medicines which can even be fatal, say doctors.
The drug business from monsoon-related illness is estimated to be around Rs 1,600 crore a season, of which spurious drugs take a huge share.
“Paracetamol, anti-histamines, anti-cold, anti–bacterial and antibiotics are the usual drugs whose use goes up during monsoon to fight illnesses like leptospirosis and viral fever, “says Dr Satheesh Parameswaran of the government hospital here.
“Low quality medicines are aplenty in the wholesale market. Medical stores sell them with a big margin. Actually, the owners of these stores should discourage patients from going in for the over-the-counter purchase without prescription,” he adds.
Under or over-medication is part of self-medication, say doctors. Lack of clinical evaluation of the patient’s condition can result in wrong diagnosis which can later prove fatal. Anti-microbials resistance as a result of self-medication is a serious problem since there is an irrational use of anti-malarials, admits a druggist in the city. A number of patients come for medicines without prescription, he says.
“These are seasonal medicines and we are not sure of the quality. But the profits from this is luring,” he adds.
