Vietnamese prefers buying over-the-counter medicine than seek doctor's advice
05-SEP-2008 Intellasia | Bernama
Sep 5, 2008 - 7:00:00 AM
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A major online survey revealed that Vietnamese people prefers to buy medicines over-the-counter rather than seeking the advice of a registred medical practitioner, the Vietnam news agency reports.
Ranking the second nation of self-medicators, The Nielsen Co in partnership with the Association of the European Self-Medication Industry (AESGP) said 45% of Vietnamese respondents took medicines without consultation for minor ailments such as headaches, colds and indigestion.
Some 28,000 respondents from 51 countries who took part in the survey, revealed that it is common for Vietnamese to ask the advice of unlicensed pharmacists or friends when choosing medicine, rather than seeing a doctor for a prescription, which is far more costly.
Meanwhile, Chief of Bach Mai Hospital's Anti-Bacterial Contamination Department Dr Nguyen Viet Hung said that self-prescribing medicine can be harmful, as the medicine may not effect or damage ones health if it is incorrectly prescribed.
"Long-term use of an incorrectly prescribed medicine can cause the body to build up a tolerance, making treatment more difficult," he said, adding that liver and kidney damage was likely if medicines were over-used.
Dr Hung says 75% of allergic cases seen at the department are from self-prescribing antibiotics, and a further five% are allergies to common medicines like paracetamol.
The doctor advises patients not to buy medicines without specialist advice, and not to be swayed by advertisements for medicine, as they are often misleading.
Doctor Nguyen Nang An, director of the Vietnam Association of Allergy, Asthma and Clinical Immunology says 60% of the poisoning cases he sees are caused by patients self-prescribing medicine.
According to Ly Ngoc Kinh, director of the Treatment Department of the Ministry of Health, self-medication has become increasingly popular among Vietnamese.
Kinh believes this is due to availability of over-the-counter anti-biotics, and other drugs commonly needing a prescription. Vietnamese often trust the advise of friends with no medical experience, he says.
Weak enforcement of regulations covering medicine use also compounds the problem, said Kinh.
Ministry of Health regulations forbid the sale of 48 types of medicines without a doctors prescription.
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