We did it
again...
In 2014 we broke the record and spent over 11.4mld PLN for the OTC medications.
In 2014 we broke the record and spent over 11.4mld PLN for the OTC medications.
"OTC
medications" means Over-the-Counter Medications which are pills you can
buy without prescription. They're on every corner, almost everywhere. But do
you know is it safe to you to buy them?
Mostly common used painkillers are: Aspirin, Paracetamol or Ibuprofen. Average Pole uses 52 of them every year. But
I’m sure that not everyone knows about the adverse effects:
·
Increased risk of having a range of gastrointestinal problems like diarrhea or nausea. Every
year over 7.000 people in the US are hospitalized due to gastrointestinal
problems connected with using OTC painkillers.
- Serious upper gastrointestinal bleeding and gastric ulcers- it’s rare, but very serious case.
- Heart failure- A 2011 study found that these
drugs can increase your risk of heart attacks.
- Higher risk of erectile dysfunction- one of the most unpleasant side effect.
- Photosensitivity and other allergic
reactions. Especially when you have diagnosed asthma.
- Risk of hepatotoxicity- as you see it isn’t caused only by
alcohol.
- Unpleasant headache, dizziness.
It
could happen because of OTC drugs to
YOU.
Remember
about that always before using next painkiller pill.
If your point of the article, was to decrease the amount of OTC medications I take, you definately succeed. I didn't even imagine there is such a lot of adverse effects! It makes me really sad that people, totally unconsciously, taking OTC pills, compound the problem.
ReplyDeleteWell it's easy to say "next time think before you take it" but pan can be really too distractive to be able to follow your daily routine. I think we should take it if we need it - it's our thing acually how many and how often we use it and i hardly believe that making a list with negative effects will change anything. Okay probably in short period of time but then people wil - probably - simply forget about them and to the same as they used to.
DeleteIf people want to get some pills, they may do it. It's holy law of freedom. But it's worse when company use human's frailty and cheat that cure will treat your illness, but not quite. And you pay, and pay, and pay, and you cry but you still pay, and unfortunately there's no results (surprise!). Oh... I did mistake... There is one result. You get new illness... Don't have to thank ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks for your blog post. I wasn't aware of any negative effects. Always I thought that painkillers are only a little dangerous for us. When something hurts me, I take painkillers. I never thought about consequences (like most of our society) .
ReplyDeleteThis is the first time I have ever read about negative effects of taking OTC medications. Every time I feel seek, have a headache, repetitive strain injury or I even complain of a stomachache, painkillers are used by me. During reading this article about risky effects connected with fallouts caused by too much pills, my eyes were getting bigger and bigger. I didn’t expected that OTC medications can have such a dangerous influence on our health.
ReplyDeletePills have been always for me a kind of placebo but thanks to this topic I’m fully aware of the fact that my activity was thoughtless.
I never red so may bad words for OTC. I don'y think that medicines are so bad. And if they have side effects they ale more helpfully for us. When something is not good with my body I have to take a medicine to feel beter. Staying at my bed not always is helpful.
ReplyDeleteI'm unfortunately one of those people. But if I only take pain meds when I need to, and if it's not a constant ailment that may signify a sickness, then I see no con in using any tools at my disposal. It's not like I eat them like candy, and I always stay within the given limits, so I don't see why I shouldn't take advantage of XXI century medicine.
ReplyDeleteEven given the health warnings, I know my limits and I just see those as motivation not to go overboard. They don't exactly scare me- bad things can happen to anybody. I may learn that I have cancer or a different terminal illness any day, along with the rest of society, so there's no reason to get paranoid over it.
Thanks for advise and creating this blog post. I must admit it, I wasn't aware of any negative effects. Well, of course these painkillers can be dangerous for liver, but I never suspect other disadvantages. When I will heva a headache next time, I will consider using painkillers more wisely.
ReplyDeleteWow! I am very surprised by your article. At first I didn't know what means OTC, so thanks for explantion. Side effects are horrible! When I have headache my grandma always gives me "Apap" or "Etopiryna". I have to tell her about danger associated with it. It isreally very disturbing because pills usually help us. I don't think that I can completely stop taking the OTC medications, but I will be careful. I hope that small amounts is not dangerous.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, paracetamol is completely safe, provided that we won't overdose it, but it's really hard to do. It can only be dangerous for people with high blood pressure, but still only in big doses. Ibuprofenum and other painkiller substances can destroy your digestive system, but only if you are allergic or hypersensitive to these substances. In my opinion everything's for people, but only if we use common sense.
ReplyDeleteThe fact is that people are buying more and more OTC medicines nowadays. People believe that it is a simply way to remove all pains. They don’t want to go to a doctor. They prefer to treat on their own. The reason is that it is not easy to make an appointment with doctor in very short time. Sometimes we have to wait a few days. Painkillers we can buy everywhere. Mostly they are cheap. However it can lead to many diseases. Painkillers destroy our liver and stomach. Still we don’t know the sources of our pain.
ReplyDeletePainkillers are often used. It is believed that it can quickly relieve pain, but often it's just a placebo effect. They are supposedly harmless, but often used can wreak havoc in the body. Why do people so often use them? On the one hand, there are definitely naive, and the other don't have time to go to the doctor and want to quickly feel relief.
ReplyDeleteI will try to answer the best I can. I sometimes use this type of medication when I feel really bad and I have no time or opportunities to go to the doctor. I think it isn't wrong when parents give to their children e.g. paracetamol when their children have a fever at the night and they can't sleep. But if you are really sick I believe that you should go to the doctor, OTC medications have a short duration of action and too frequent their use can destroy the liver. What else? People often buy medicine and thinks that it work but it's just placebo effect.
ReplyDeleteNow pharmaceutics is a really big and successful buisness. And sometimes people want money so much, that they can risk and produce more qualitative drugs. As for me, I don't like drugs. They help, but it is more profitably and safely to use folk remedies (if it is not serious illness, for example cough). But medicine is developing and it is really fine, that people have more days to live and more chances to live through serious disease.
ReplyDeleteWhen I feel sick I prefer natural medicaments like lemon, garlic or milk with honey. I really rarely reach for OTC medicaments unless I have fever or big headache. I don’t take a drugs cause I’m afraid about them but because I have problem with swallowing pills, I hate this. I don’t think so that OTC medicaments are such dangerous for health but of course they can be harmful when we take them in excess. The only advice says that we should be reasonable when we take medicaments.
ReplyDeleteI take OTC medications from time to time, not very often. When I have headache I prefer to drink a cup of coffee, when my stomach hurts I drink tea or a cup of herbs. But of course there are some situations when I can't stand without them, for example when I have a fever, sinus infection or a migraine.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to take them only when nothing other helps me. Natural medicines like milk with garlic or honey are better but not always help us. I didn't know how bad can be results of using OTC medicaments. It's horrible in fact. Maybe that's the point why I have so long hedeache...
ReplyDeleteI think people will still use them, because they think that it's faster and easier than other methods.
I don't even like taking any medicines, but I do this if I really need this. I think that's really bad if people take them just 'in case' not when something wrong is happening.
ReplyDeleteThis can make many people addicted to it and can cause many complications with health. Personally I'm opposite of this easy access to many medications.
I had no idea that Polish people spend so much money on OTC medications. Personally i rarely use painkillers, I do it only when pain is really huge. I didn't know, that OTC medications have so many side effects - they can even make you go to the hospital! I think everyone, especially people with serious illnesses like asthma and heart diseases should avoid taking painkillers if it's possible. If it's not possible - they have to read leaflet and use only a little dose.
ReplyDeleteThis piece of news is pretty shocking for me. I didn't know that taking OTC medications might be so unhealthy for us. I always thought that if they were sold without prescription that they make no harm. I guess I was wrong and I should read OTC's leafleats more carefully. I was aware that taking drugs in general always influences one's health, but not to this level. Personally I take drugs quite often and it's usually because I tent to have awful headaches. Maybe because of this article next time I will considerate taking them I will read leaflet first.
DeleteI used to take OTC medications often and now I am trying to get out of this habit. I don’t think articles like this will scare people and make them stop taking OTC. It is hard to live with pain nowadays, because people don’t have time to feel bad. They have to work, go to school and do more and more stuff. To do this right they have to feel good and comfortable, which is not possible if you feel pain. That’s why they took more and more OTC medications.
ReplyDeleteI am one of those people who usually don't take pills for pain. The only exception is the pain I can not bear. However, such situations occur once a year. I realize they are harmful and therefore I avoid them. It is a pity that so many people forget about it and suffer painful consequences.
ReplyDeleteIt's a pity that pharmaceuticals which are supposed to help can cause negative results instead. I believe that every house in this world is equipped in different painkillers and other OTC medications. Personally, I do not use them in large quantities; however, they are still around in my life and I know many people who are not able to function without them. We should be aware of all the harmful effects of every pill we take as they might influence our health in the future!
ReplyDeletePersonally, i try not to use a painkillers, but i have to admit that i always have Apap with me. But it's a placebo, i use them only if i'll have a long day and i feel like headache will kill me . And if we consider, OTC medications are common in pharmacy so they could be safe for health... Aproppriate dosage can't kill us.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately I am the person who takes a lot of OTC. These are usually painkillers. Even now I have an ibuprom right next to me. To count how much I take analgesic tablets per month would be around 12, during the year 144. At this point I realized how much I take them. I will try to limit the intake of drugs from the spring. I'm shocked.
ReplyDeleteI also take a lot of OTC medicines. Although I know about the side effects they cause, I think that I wouldn't be able not to use them in need. I think that's the only way to recover when I start to be sick. It's very effective and I don't have time to lie in bed and rest for a recovery. They can cause a lot of diseases but unfortunately in our today's world many things are polluted or contain strange substances so I don't see this difference if I would poison my body with an OTC medicine or with a bar of chocolate.
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ReplyDeleteTo be honest, this post has worried me so much. Personally, I've headache so often, and I always take special tablets in this case. That means, that I'm exposed to dangers described in the post an average of five times a month. It's terrifying how harmful it's to my body. I really don't want have the problems e.g. with my hearth or dizziness in the future, but these tablets really help me with the pain. But... I know, that my headache's usually caused by lack of sleep. Maybe I should try to take care of myself more? Hah, it sounds great in theory, but I suppose, that in fact I'm going to choose painkillers - not sleeping or other natural methods. Why? Pills aren't so expensive. They're also easy to use and start working fast. I hope, I won't regret it.
ReplyDeleteIt’s first time when I have ever read about negative effects of OTC medications. This side effects are really dangerous and I will try to replace this drugs and medicaments with any others method of getting rid of pain. I occasionally take pills but after reading this article I decide not to use OTC medications anymore.
ReplyDeleteNowadays people take too much OTC medications. It might be because with help of this kind of drugs they have the opportunity to easily get rid of pain. Some people overuse them as they cannot normally function without them and become addicted over time.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to me I try to avoid drugs as much as I can, because I don't want to depend on meds to make me not feel pain. What is more I feel nouseous everytime I take them. In my opinion painkillers should be taken only for unsufferable pain and people should't take them everytime they have migraine or other headache symptoms. Some people may be not aware of the side effects and the fact that overusing pills might cause serious health problems.
Problem described in presentation with OTO medications has very simple reason. Why people use OTO medications so often ? Because they want to quickly get rid of ailments. For example I have to go to work and I've got a headache, so I take a pain killer and problem solved. We are not thinking about long-distance effects of using OTO medicaments. I also sometimes take a pain killer but I try to do it only when I really have to. Overusing of OTO medications is also induced by advertisments, which promise that their products work miracles.
ReplyDeleteI don't use OTC medications very often as I don't like to take pills at all. Of course, I use it sometimes, mainly when I have a sore throat. I can't understand people who use painkillers so often. They should go to a doctor or ignore the pain (if they have got it really often, they can get used to it). I have even heard that more people die due to overdosage of over-the-counter medications than due to the overdosage of the alcohol.
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ReplyDeleteIt is a terrible message that Poles are popping so many pills! I had never thinking that statistics are so frightening. We aren't aware of their adverse effects. I think that in much of cases we are accustomed to drugs action, we are addicted to drugs and they don't help for us. We should gradually disaccustom from overusing medications. Our body system will be grateful. And we will save money. ;)
ReplyDeleteIn pharmacy we can find more and more medicines, which we could buy without presciption. I think it isn’t very good tendency, because people use these medicines without consultation with doctor. This is reason of many diseases caused by using wrong drugs or – what is even more frequent – by using to many drugs! We used to take medicines everytime when we have pain. Even if this pain isn’t too strong. But we need to remember that every drug has effect (not always good), e.g. allergic reactions, heart failure or gastrointestinal bleeding and we should think during taking any medicines.
ReplyDeletePersonally I am so sensitive. I have allergic reactions everytime when I take a med! That's why I have not found this article really touching. What can I say about medicines when I don't take it? Maybe something about how it really works. In my opinion this is just a business for the naive people who think that they can eat unhealthy, smoke etc. and they still will be in a good shape. This is sad and it won't be a true because meds aren't safe and without sny consultations with a specialist you can even die!
ReplyDeleteWow, how a lot of negative effects! I didn't know this, although it's probably all written on the leaflet. Yeah, we should read leaflets. Sometimes it can be helpful. But, on the other hand, this article is focused on discouragement. Each medicine has side effects, but sometimes we just need a painkiller. However, we have to do it wisely. I take painkillers only when nothing else really helps.
ReplyDeleteYeah, do you know that eating too much innocent apple seeds can poison you and cause death due to cyanide derivatives? So eating too much fruits can be dangerous too? What I'm trying to say: "All substances are poisons; there is none which is not a poison. The right dose differentiates a poison and a remedy." - Paracelsus. Same goes to painkillers. Don't overdose it and everything will be alright. And all these symptoms aren't that strange after all. Just take a look at any medicine in your sight - all of them CAN but don't have to cause diarrhea, allergic reactions, pain or so...
ReplyDeleteI wanted to write almost the same. I definetely think that in serious injury it is better to go to the doctor, but in my opinion when we suffer from simple cold, taking OTC medications migth be enough and I trust that following the instructions added to those medications makes it very likely we will avoid adverse effects.
DeleteThe regle of golden mean explains how avoid all these negative consequences. It means that we should balance between a common sense and a pain non using to much drugs. 1 max 2 pills may help but not more. However in my opinion people should contact a doctor before they will take something. And obviously it's neccessary to read the lealflets!
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ReplyDeletePersonally, I avoid taking painkillers on several counts. All the same, I understand why over-the-counter medications are used so frequently by other. I doubt that taking it from time to time and in case of serious ache, when somebody is in pain, has so severe side effect. Moreover, I suppose that if it is sold without prescription it is not really harmful and unhealthy. However, I totally agree that taking an overdose can be tremendously dangerous. There is no wonder that taking painkillers every day, for several years, without particular reason, result from different kind of problem. It is the truth universally acknowledged that everything in foolish amount is risky. It is necessary to be reasonable. It prevent people from side effect such as allergic reaction, heart failure, gastric ulcers or diarrhoea.
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ReplyDeleteNowadays people do not have time to go to the doctor and wait for perscription in a long queue.
That is why people choose faster way to stop the pain and they are buying medicines which are available almost everywhere. This is a simply way to remove pain. However, all this painkillers destroy us from inside of us. I think that too many people take OTC medicines too often, when pain is not as big that is impossible to survive without them.
I'm not a fan of OTC medications. I take it only in eventual moments. I have never thought about effects, but on the other hand, we should know that chemical substances are not safe and healthy for us. This article is a great way to catch the attention to this issue. There are lots of alternatives to them. Mabey we should more often think about herbs ? It also can help, but without dangerous effects.
ReplyDeleteAbusing OTC medications is a real problem in this century. I heard that young people in Poland were coming to the hospitals because their abusing OTC medications more than a real drugs! That`s terrifying! I avoid using OTC medications for no reason. When I have a headache or stomachache I`m trying to survive this. When I really can`t stand it I reach for OTC medications.
ReplyDeleteI use OTC medications very rarely, only when it is really necessary. I prefer natural ways to fight with pain. Also I think that the more often we use that the less it works. So if I’m in serious need of that kind of medication it won’t work. It’s better to avoid using painkillers if it’s possible.
ReplyDeleteMedications are not for children, they are for aware people who READ THE INSTRUCTION. That's why it is attached to the packaging. Like Maciej said- it's the dose what makes a poison so I think that this is the most important thing to remember- keeping balance. Personally I prefer not to use medications when I'm not in dire need. When I have a headache I drink more water or try to sleep instead of taking pills. Of course, it's just an example, but we should look for alternatives or just go to the doctor.
ReplyDeleteFor whatever reason, I'm a big enemy of all kind of medication, antibiotics and pills and use them only in the direst of needs, most of the time resorting to natural medicine and simple rest. While it does help us to some extent, modern medicine has a lot of undesired side effects, some lower our immunity defenses making us more susceptible to getting sick again shortly after. I'm not saying that pills are all evil, because they're not, and in the long run they might be doing us more good than evil, but you really aren't doing yourself much of a favor if you take antibiotics and six other kind of medication during a mild cold you could've simply slept through.
ReplyDeleteFew years ago I have read an article about the amount of medications taken by polish people. Apparently, even then the number was very being and it hasn't gotten better since then. In my opinion the best solution is to ask older generations how they were treating different diseases. Of course when it is absolutely necessary we need to take medicines but common flue can be treated using herbs or simply taking better care of ourselves. The truth is older generations have more knowledge about the last one than we will ever have.
ReplyDeleteAnd that's why they add instructions to every pack of medication- so we know how to use them, how often, on which conditions etc. I think you're overreacting a little bit. Of course every interference in our organism has some consequences, but we can't go crazy because of that. That's why there are trained people (called doctors) who can help us if there is any unusual symptom after taking some medicine.
ReplyDeleteI have no idea what should i say about this thema, because i'm addicted to medicaments. I've a big problem with low part of back so pills like ibuprofen, paracetamol and also this one for presription are just part of my life. I know this is really dangerous, but i have no choise. Sad, but real. We have to understand, even try, how huge pain could be.
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DeleteI'm definetely not an OTC-medications addict. However, i know plenty of people who take these pills really often. In my opinion, we underestimate the side-effects of all medicines. It might sound like a slogan, but everything can harm us if we take too much of it. Especially when we take too much drugs, which affect our physical and mental condition.
ReplyDeleteGood for me that I don’t like pills and I don’t use them when it is not necessary. For the more, I think that pills should not be so easy to buy. I think that we should ban selling medicine with out doctor prescription. On the other hand, it would increase amount of people in hospitals. So, it is very huge problem, but one thing can be done. People must be well informed about problems that pills can cause.
ReplyDeleteI used to take OTC medications, but now I don't. I do not need them or maybe I just don't think that I need them. When I am ill I usually go to a doctor or try traditional ways, for example: ginger with honey for a sore throat. It is much better than OTC and I believe - much more healthy. You can read a lot about it in the Internet, so find it out and leave OTC!
ReplyDeleteThe number of medications which I took during last year is probably several pills so I hope I will not have a lot of problems for this reason. For me people who everyday take a pill because "they have headake" are ignorant. They do not know what they take. But nowadays I noticed that taking a lot of pills is trendy and is a part of beeing recognisable.
ReplyDeleteOTC medications are not the problem here. The problem is on the side od people. They often don't understand that ibuprofen is not a candy, and they shouldn't take it every time they feel a little bot worse. I think that without this "soft painkillers" our life could be much harder, especially for women at the time of menstruation. I always try to cure myself using natural products and herbs, but sometimes it's just not enough, so without OTC medications it would be impossible for me to function normally.
ReplyDeleteI think that overtaking ITC medication is real problem of Poles. I think we look for the easiest way to get rid of every health discomfort and that way is a painkiller. We are not aware of negative consequences of these medications. I think that people shuuld pay attention on what they eat and what lifestyle they have. If they managed to increase the quality of their life, they would give up taking ITC permanetly.
ReplyDeleteThe article shows bad side of medicine and I totally agree that big dose of medicines can be a cause of those dangerous diseases. The problem is that the effect of using this come very late. Medicines changes our health in a long time. The only one solution is our awareness. It is easy to take a pill and in a 20 minutes feel better but later we will pay for that comfort. Later means 30, 40 years later. It is not for free... If you have natural alternative - use it! It is harder but safier!
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I am not a fan of OTC medications. Most side effects are unpleasant, but I think if we use those medications properly nothing bad will happen. I think that a lot of people just use them wrong because they don't read labels and take them even if they don't need them and that's why they experience bad side effects later.
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