This piece below is Authored by @hermannsol, edited and posted by @mcsamm for @wafrica.

Drug resistance is becoming a major issue in health practice today and the population out there are still ignorant of this problem and thus are making it a difficult one to solve. I believe even most of us have gotten into the habit of just consuming drugs at the lead provocation even when not necessary. We forget that we have immune systems to take care of minor issues that we resolve to drugs almost instantly at the lightest provocation. Some of us even prescribe drugs for ourselves based on our assumptions as to the cause of the disease or problem without a proper medical diagnosis leading to the treatment of the wrong disease in most cases. Some people even fail to follow the doctor's prescription either by taking under dose or overdose or even taking the right dose at the wrong time. These are but few factors that precipitate the problem of drug resistance and unfortunately, most people take it very lightly.

What is drug resistance?

Drug resistance is the reduction in the effectiveness of a medication or drug in curing a disease or condition.

Causes include drug abuse, drug non-compliance, wrong prescription, taking the wrong dose etc.
The most precipitating causes are drug abuse and drug non-compliance.
Most patients have abused a lot of drugs especially drug classes like painkillers, antibiotics(antibacterials).
Have you ever experienced it or heard someone say i have this problem and i always take this drug and it resolves but now it seems as if the drug is not working anymore? Drug resistance is knocking at the door.They even go ahead to increase the dose and altering the prescribed dose that is if they even took the courtesy to get a valid prescription from a practitioner just making the problem even worse.

What i'm saying is, the effects of drug resistance are very severe than we think. When you are ill, don't just prescribe for yourself and coax your system with drugs that may not be necessary. Always visit a hospital, do your tests and know what disease it is before taking drugs. Don't just be treating blindly without an idea of what you are treating.

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The issue is, once you don't take a medication properly, the disease agents develops resistance against that medication and the probability is its effectiveness on you will be reduced and a possibility that the said medication might never work on you again. That is how serious it is and imagine that if you have a condition and the said medication is the only cure; then that means you can never be cured because of a mistake that you could have prevented.

So please don't be ignorant anymore; help the health sector in this quest to combat drug resistance by:

1. Reporting to the hospital when you are sick for proper testing.
2. Taking your medications as prescribed. Take note of the time and dose (very important)
3. Avoid drug dependence and abuse.
4. Do not get into the habit of resorting to drugs at the slightest provocation. Like my pharmacology lecturer said,

All drugs have their harmful effects on the body.
It gives something and it takes something.

That is very correct because keeping their side effects aside; do you know the two organs involved in drug break down and excretion are the two most important in the body. The liver in breakdown and the kidneys in excretion. So when you resort in taling drugs even when it is not necessary you put these organs at risk. If this habit should continue then it is but normal to say a liver problem or a kidney failure should be just way ahead.
So please please stay safe, protect yourselves and your loved ones.

NO ACTION TODAY NO CURE TOMORROW

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