KARACHI:
As a practising pharmacist, I can see the consequences of the growing trend of self-medication. Customers routinely ask for antibiotics “just like last time”, having diagnosed themselves from a health blog, or request to stop a prescribed course the moment symptoms ease. Antimicrobial resistance needs much more public attention. This resistance does not develop overnight; instead, it grows gradually with every skipped dose and each self-prescribed course of medication. We, the pharmacists, are often the last line of defence. We refuse requests we know are medically unsound, but we cannot manage this alone. I would urge readers to see a pharmacist’s caution as a safeguard for their own long-term health and that of the wider community, not as unhelpful red tape.
Natasha Soomro
Lahore
