Doctor Warns Against Self-Medication, Antibiotic Misuse

A leading medical expert has called for an immediate end to the practice of self-medication and the indiscriminate use of antibiotics in Nigeria, warning that these actions are dangerously fueling antimicrobial resistance.

Dr. Grace Senbanjo, a Consultant Endocrinologist and Physician at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, raised the alarm in an interview in Lagos on Tuesday. She described the widespread abuse of antibiotics as a major and growing threat to the nation’s public health system.

“The use of antibiotics without a prescription from qualified medical experts is one of the major causes of antimicrobial resistance across the country,” Senbanjo stated, noting that this resistance leads to severe complications, longer hospital stays, and increased deaths.

She explained that Antimicrobial Resistance occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites evolve to withstand the drugs designed to kill them. This renders treatments ineffective, turning routine infections into potentially untreatable diseases.

“Antibiotics are meant to treat specific types of bacteria and cannot be interchanged,” she emphasized. “But today, they are indiscriminately used to treat diverse ailments, which has led to resistance.”

Dr. Senbanjo criticized common practices such as using antibiotics for viral infections like colds and flu without a prescription, as well as patients stopping their medication prematurely once they feel better. She stressed that a full course of antibiotics, typically lasting seven days, is essential even if symptoms improve earlier.

The physician urged for mandatory laboratory testing to identify the exact cause of an infection before any antibiotic is prescribed. “Before prescribing antibiotics, both the patient and the drug should undergo a culture test… to determine the exact antibiotic that can combat it,” she advised.

She called on the Federal Government and regulatory agencies to strengthen the enforcement of drug sale policies and launch robust public awareness campaigns across television, radio, and social media platforms to educate Nigerians on the dangers of antibiotic misuse.