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A Pharmacist, Rotkang Okunlola, has identified self-medication and abuse of painkillers and antibiotics as some of the leading causes of kidney damage.
Okunola, who is a lecturer at the University of Jos, capital of Plateau State, disclosed this in Jos, yesterday.
She said that indiscriminate intake of drugs, such as painkillers and strong antibiotics, could damage the kidney and eventually lead to kidney failure.
She also said self medication is responsible for the cases of drug resistance in the society, and added that most people who indulged in the practice either failed to adhere to the number of days to take the drugs or failed to take them as and when due. The don said diseases such as hypertension and diabetes, if not managed, or poorly managed, could also lead to damage of the kidney. She advised individuals with family history of kidney diseases to ensure they go for regular kidney function tests as kidney diseases could also be hereditary.
A Jos resident Miss Simi Chollom, a student of the Plateau State Polytechnic, admitted to self-medication.
Chollom said whenever she had fever, she would just take anti-malarial drug instead of going to the hospital to ascertain the actual cause of the fever.
On her part, Mrs. Mary Bitrus, said she had stopped self-medicating when she almost died.
Bitrus said she was treating malaria which wasn’t abating, without knowing that she had Hepatitis B, until she went to the hospital for proper checks and the actual cause of her ailment was diagnosed. She vowed never to indulge in the act anymore.
