Specialists have warned against self-medication and the misuse of certain drugs by citizens fearing to catch Covid-19 following the recent surge in contamination by the Omicron variant.
In a statement to the APS, the head of the “Internal Medicine” Service at the Public Hospital Establishment (EPH) of Birtraria, Pr. Ammar Tebaibia, sounded the alarm on the amplification of the phenomenon of self-medication and the misuse of certain types of drugs for the treatment of Covid-19, causing “strong pressure” on these drugs at the level of community pharmacies.
“However, it is useless to prescribe antibiotics, anticoagulants and corticosteroids to patients who do not suffer from inflammation or arterial obstruction”, explained the specialist, noting that very few patients infected with the Omicron variant , which is less virulent than its predecessors, needs oxygen.
Also, he called on his medical colleagues to respect the protocol and instructions of the Ministry of Health in this regard to preserve the health of citizens.
He also called on followers of self-medication to refrain from storing and using certain types of drugs without medical advice, warning that this behavior could expose them to “complications more serious than contamination even by covid-19. “.
Noting that more and more citizens were storming community pharmacies to obtain drugs against the complications of covid-19, Pr. Tebaibia regretted that some pharmacies themselves prepare “drug kits” that they do not hesitate to sell without a prescription.
Ahmed Achour
