A physician, Prof. Christy Okoromah, has warned Nigerians against self medication as some of the elements included in drug products can endanger the heart because of self medication. Okoromah, who is the Head of Paediatric Cardiology and Infectious Disease unit University of Lagos stated this in Lagos in furtherance of the World Hypertension Day. According to her, a lot of the drugs Nigerians buy over the counter and practice self medication and consume, have the predisposition to cause persistent hypertension.

There are many drugs Nigerians and the general public just buy over the counter and consume without realising that it can cause persistent hypertension. (Take thing) self medication like acetaminophen which is contained in panadol paracetamol (for example). Drugs must not be taken carelessly because of its dangers to health people buy steroids, they give to asthmatics; it can also cause hypertension. Ibuprofen oral contraceptives that contain estrogen and progesterone can also cause hypertension.

I want to emphasise children who take self medication they can also have hypertension but unfortunately we are not looking out for that Many people wonder what children have to do with hypertension, We are not looking out for it even in hospitals we are not doing it properly, these are some of the things that we need to change ,Hypertension (High Blood Pressure) is a common condition in which the long term force of the blood against a person’s artery walls is high enough that it may eventually cause health problems such as heart disease and there is many ways to cure hypertension.

Okoromah, a Consultant and the Director Medical Education Development unit of the university, spoke of the need to stop self medication and to raise awareness even amongst healthcare professionals,regarding the fact that we need to be monitoring and measuring blood pressure in children properly. It’s not just enough to measure, get a value systolic diastolic because in children, you have to interpret it using their height and their age.

Self medication is a human behaviour in which an individual uses a substance or any exogenous influence to self-administer treatment for physical or psychological ailments.The most widely self-medicated substances are over the counter drugs used to treat common......

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