Question

Occasional self-medication has always been part of normal living. The making and selling of drugs
have a long history and is closely linked, like the medical practice itself, with belief in magic. Only
during the last hundred years or so has the development of scientific techniques made diagnosis
possible. The doctor is now able to follow up the correct diagnosis of many illnesses with specific
treatment of their cause. In many other illnesses of which the causes remain unknown, he is still
limited, like the unqualified prescriber, to the treatment of symptoms. The doctor is trained to
decide when to treat symptoms only and when to attack the cause. This it the essential difference
between medical prescribing and self-medication.

The advance of technology has brought about much progress in some fields of medicine including
the development of scientific drug therapy. In many countries public health organization is
improving and peoples’ nutritional standards have risen. Parallel with such beneficial trends are
two which have an adverse effect. One is the use of high-pressure advertising by the
pharmaceutical industry which has tended to influence both patients and doctors and has led to
the overuse of drugs generally. The other is the emergence of sedentary society with its faulty
ways of living: lack of exercise, overeating, unsuitable eating, insufficient sleep, excessive
smoking and drinking. People with disorders arising from faulty habits such as these, as well as
from unhappy human relationships, often resort to self-medication. Advertising go to great
lengths to catch this market.

Cleaver advertising aimed at chronic sufferers; who will try anything because doctors have not
been able to cure them; can induce faith in a medicine, particularly if it steeply priced.
Advertisements are also aimed at people suffering from mild complaints such as simple colds and
coughs which advertisements claim will clear up within a short time due to the intake of a medicinal product.
These are the main reasons whey laxatives, indigestion -remedies, pain killers, cough-mixtures,
tonics, vitamins and iron tablets, nose drops, ointments and many other preparations are found
in quantity in many households. It is doubtful whether taking these things even improves a
person’s health or it simply makes it worse. Worse, because the preparation may contain
unsuitable ingredients making a person dependent on them. They may also cause poisoning and
worst of all the symptoms of an underlying problem may be masked and therefore medical help
may be sought. Self-diagnosis is a greater danger than self-medication.

a) Provide a suitable title for the above passage and thereafter, make notes using headings
and subheadings

b) Identify the topic sentence of each paragraph of the passage.

Answer 1

Answer:Self Medication- A Growing Trend

1. Self Medication and Medical Prescription

a) Occasional self medication practiced in past

b) Medical diagnosis recent-100 yrs.

1

approx.

2

c) Difference between a prescribed medicine and self medication

I. Doc.

3

trained –knows when to treat symptoms & when to treat cause.

II. Indiv.

4

doing self medication ignorant abt.

5

above.

2. Growth in Technology- Benefits and Adverse Effects

a) Improvement in medicines, public health systems, nutritional stds.

6

b) Sedentary society: lack of exercise, overeating, unsuitable eating,

insufficient sleep, excessive smoking and drinking.

c) Self Medication-Ppl.

7

with lifestyle disorders or relationship prblms 8

–

target of advertisers.

3. Types of Self Medication & Effects

a) Laxatives, indigestion-remedies, pain killers, cough –mixtures, tonics,

vitamins and iron tablets, nose drops, ointments etc

b) Can worsen prblm

I. Unsuitable ingredients

II. Medicine may mask real cause

Explanation:

Answer 2

Self-medication: A current challenge

Self-medication

• A part of normal living.
• Diagnosis has been possible only during the last 100 years
• Correct diagnosis is now possible.
• Doc. required for treatment and diagnosis.
• Self-medication differs from Medical prescription.

Advancement of technology

• Devp. of drug therapy.
• Have risen the nutritional std.
• Improvement of public health org.

Adverse effects

1. Advertising

• High pressure by the pharmaceutical industry.
• Influenced patients and doctors.
• Overuse of drugs.

   2. Faulty ways of living

• Sedentary lifestyle.
• Lack of exercise.
• Overeating, insufficient sleep.
• Smoking and drinking.
• Unhappy relationships.

Believe in self-medication

• Patients not been cured by doctors.
• Steep prices.
• Wrong claims in adv.

Harmful effects of self-medication

• May make the situation worse.
• Unsuitable ingredients.
• Addictive.
• Poisoning.
• Real problem may get masked.

Abbreviations used-

1. doc. - Doctor
2. std. - Standard
3. org. - organization
4. devp -development
5. adv -advertisement

Topic sentence for each paragraph

• 1 st paragraph - Self-medication and medical prescription are different.
• 2nd paragraph - Advancement of technology in the medical field.
• 3rd paragraph - Clear advertising making the situation worse.

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