One of the skills to have and be able to do well is first aid. And first aid is also part of self-medication, knowing so well what to do and when to do it.
When I was a child, we did more of self-education than going to the hospitals and the like. I must say that I did not visit the hospital for so many years, and that was because of the self-medication my mom always did for us all.
Was I the only one? But any time I was sick, I always got a way to boost my immune system with one thing or another. I could still remember very well. As of now, my mom doesn't give us tablets to use at all. We use more of agbo (herbal medicine).
I could still remember some leaves till now, even when it's after 15 years. I still remember so many things my mom used to do for us back then.
The good thing about self-medication is that it saves lives. Let me give you an example of what I just said. There was this: we had a party at one of our friends places; it was a birthday party. And it was so fun. We had the party till midnight; unfortunately, one of our friends just collapsed, not knowing he has been stressed and sick for some time now. It was midnight, and it's a birthday party in the house.
We are stuck and couldn't find anything to get for our friend. He was shivering so bad all of a sudden. Until the owner of the house said he has some medicine at home for malaria and typhoid. We were able to give it to him, and after 30 minutes he was able to get it back himself. This is one of the important parts of self-medication; it will allow you to treat yourself even before you get to see any doctor. But then it is so good to know about self-medication; so many people just treat themselves without knowing the root of what is doing them.
Just as self-medication is good, if you miss using some drugs, it might harm you so badly. On this day, I know a lady that was so sick and refused to go to the hospital; she also does not know more about how to treat herself. She then went ahead to take more than what was to be taken. Some drugs are so powerful and should not be missed. Drug misuse is so powerful and dangerous. So she treated herself and landed in the hospital because she missed using the drugs.
On the other hand, I have seen another guy who took a strong herbal medicine for malaria, and immediately after which he took the herbal medicine. He also got a strong malaria drug and used the two at the same time. To him, he thinks it will work so fast and make him feel better, not knowing to him that he has overused the drugs. He landed in the hospital. And was taking care of.
My point is that self-medication is pretty good, but to some extent, we need to learn about self-medication so we will not end up harming ourselves instead of taking care of ourselves.