MYSURU: In what may become a dangerous a trend during the COVID-19 season, people, gripped with fear, have started to self-medicate, or are asking their local pharmacists to prescribe medicines for various ailments. While some say this could be the result of fear among people of contracting illnesses at clinics, the closure of local clinics and private practices can also be a reason.
Speaking to TNIE, Sridhar, who runs a medical store in Mysuru, says that after the outbreak, footfall at his store shot up and people increasingly started enquiring about medicines for the flu. He adds that many customers have also asked for medicines after watching Youtube videos and reading WhatsApp forwards. Medlife, an online pharma portal, also recorded similar trends, indicating that the demand for vitamin C supplements, immunity boosters and HCQs has skyrocketed. “We had to stop sale of HCQs after our stocks got exhausted.
The demand has not gone down though,” says a Medlife spokesperson. Dr M G Narahari, a physician with Apollo Hospitals Mysuru, says it is dangerous for people to self-medicate right now, especially those already on medication for issues such as blood pressure, as it can cause drugto- drug interaction, leading to other complications.