Visakhapatnam: Fearing infection, many pop multivitamin tablets

Visakhapatnam: As soon as Covid symptoms start showing up, many could hardly wait until their test results land.

Gripped by fear and anxiety, people are approaching pharmaceutical stores to bring home a list of drugs with the assistance of the pharmacist.Although many are now getting their tests done as soon as the symptoms show up, time consumed to get the results turns out to be a deterrent factor.

It is one of the major reasons why there is a significant rise in self-prescribed medication.

While some keep a track of medicines used by the patients who recovered from Covid-19, few others are Googling them out. Depending on the rapport they share with pharmacists and doctors in their circle, others are opting for self-medication. A few are able to gain access to the list of medicines that come along with the government's free medical isolation kits supplied to patients in home isolation. They are approaching medical stores to bring home the same set of medicines for their personal use.

Ever since the outbreak of the second wave of coronavirus, medical stores are witnessing a brisk business. Even pharmacists are coming forward to offer suggestions to customers on what course to follow to treat cold, fever and cough. In some cases, they are going a step ahead by giving confidence to the customers that they can use a set of medicines which not only cures common cold and cough but also coronavirus in case they are infected.

Instead of settling for drugs to treat fever and cold, many pay heed to what the chemist recommends as the fear of virus continues to loom large. "A few days back, I suffered from cold and fever. I went to a medical store in HB Colony to get medicines.

However, the chemist suggested that I should go for a weeklong course rather. Given the pandemic situation, I did not refuse when he recommended a list of medicines costing me Rs 1,500 which I never used earlier to treat cold and fever," recalls M Kranthi, an employee working in a private firm.

In addition to bottles of cough syrups, zinc, C and D Vitamin and B-Complex tablets, multivitamin capsules along with antibiotics are flying off the shelves at medical stores. Sharing details with The Hans India, pharmacist Chandramouli says, "Close to 90 per cent of the customers are coming to get vitamin capsules and antibiotics.

Some are also asking us what kind of medicines to use to ensure that they do not get infected with the virus. Of late, there is a significant rise in over-the-counter sale of medicines."

However, doctors and experts emphasise that such self-consumption of drugs can only affect Covid treatment later and also lead to complications, impacting the recovery process. They suggest that people should go for testing when they spot Covid symptoms and follow proper treatment protocol as suggested by the doctor.