Does South Africans self medicate frequently?

Question

I was reading an article and it seems that people in Africa would rather go to a pharmacy and decide themselves what medicines they need, than go to a physician.

Answer 1

Yes. I'll rather go to a pharmacy and find something that I think will help me. I haven't been to a doctor for anything in more than 4 years. The cost of a doctor is astronomical and medical aid is also very expensive. It's just something many people cannot afford.

Answer 2

Going to the doctor is terribly expensive in South Africa.  In any country you can discuss your symptoms with a qualified pharmacist and he/she can advise you what to take with over-the-counter medicines or if not, will advise you to go and see a medical practitioner.

Answer 3

Do. Yes.

Answer 4

Yes.

Well as you know that in SA the people are just out to rip-off the public.

Especially now that the government cut the fee which was paid to the pharmacist to hand us medicine which we asked for.

They use to put 40% mark up for walking five steps to grab the medicine.

Answer 5

Yeah , i also rather go to the pharmacy , ask their advise and get meds , I really trust my pharmacist , he and his wife are brilliant , a doctor gave me a script for meds once and they and they queried what was wrong , etc and then said i should go back to him cos those meds are incorrect and would aggrevate the symptoms i had , went back to the doc and it turned out they were correct , since then i always go to them and they usually say if i should go to the doc or not...

Answer 6

Yes, so do I.  We have our supply of myprodol (with codeine) and other tabs.  Our medical aid does not cover normal pain tablets or cough stuff etc, so I will first try to get the ailment cleared with what I have.  And the waiting times are so long at the doctor. Only private patients get priority. I´ve gotta be sick to need a doctor!

Answer 7

Yes i go to our chemist first, the pharmacist is very help full, she's given us some good advice, and it saves having to pay for consultation. If it is necessary i will consult my doctor later

Answer 8

Yes we are fortunate enough to be able to do it. Apparently in the UK you can hardly buy anything over the counter but for panado syrup my sister in law said. You cannot even buy pills that contains codeine without a script. We have very well qualified pharmacists here and they would usually tell you to rather go to a Doctor if they think it is serious. I self medicate, but take my kids to a doctor when they are sick, not taking any chances with them.

Answer 9

In some cases it is true Darth. With the usual colds and flu, I hardly go to a doctor anymore. I will go to a pharmacy and get myself something like Corenza C and if that does not work, then back to the doctor. I will visit the doctor if I am sure that the symptoms are not cold or flu.