Self-Medicated

A medication (also referred to as medicine, pharmaceutical) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and relies on the science of pharmacology for continual advancement and on pharmacy for appropriate management.

Drugs are classified in various ways.

One of the key divisions is by level of control, which distinguishes prescription drugs (those that a pharmacist dispenses only on the order of a physician, physician assistant, or qualified nurse) from over-the-counter drugs (those that consumers can order for themselves).

Another key distinction is between traditional small-molecule drugs, usually derived from chemical synthesis, and biopharmaceuticals, which include recombinant proteins, vaccines, blood products used therapeutically, gene therapy, monoclonal antibodies and cell therapy.

Other ways to classify medicines are by mode of action, route of administration, biological system affected, or therapeutic effects. An elaborate and widely used classification system is the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System. The World Health Organization keeps a list of essential medicines.

Drug discovery and drug development are complex and expensive endeavors undertaken by pharmaceutical companies, academic scientists, and governments. As a result of this complex path from discovery to commercialization, partnering has become a standard practice for advancing drug candidates through development pipelines. Governments generally regulate what drugs can be marketed, how drugs are marketed, and in some jurisdictions, drug pricing. Controversies have arisen over drug pricing and disposal of used drugs.

Go to the doctor and say, “ I don’t feel good.” The doctor will take your temperature, blood pressure and look you over. If there are no holes spouting blood or broken limbs, you will get a prescription and sent home. That is the normal triage learned in all those schools whose diplomas cover the wall.

Next stop is the pharmacist or druggist who will decipher the scribble and hand over a little orange plastic container with a certain number of capsules or pills (or hopefully an alternative potion that can be measured by spoonful following the recipe). When all the pills run out and you feel better, then you are cured. If the pills run out and you don’t feel better, it is back to the doctor to come up with another concoction.

After awhile your body will become adjusted to this assistance to the normal immune system and become dependent on daily refurbished meal of pharmaceutical science.

There are other ‘drugs’ available without prescription to adjust your body and your mind. Accelerators or depressants can be purchased in the corner bar or back alley. Some are regulated, some not, and some require a proper ID to show your age.

Our addiction to self-medication can be as simple as a glass of wine for dinner to a pinprick to get you through the day. If the medication was available and affordable, experimentation became a habit.

Tis the holiday season for office parties and having guest over. The first question is, “What can I get you to drink?”

Our self-medication, if it were chemical or binge eating, does not prolong our lives and make us healthier. It is socially acceptable.