Doctors: Don’t self-medicate when down with fever

Bhubaneswar: Experts have warned people against self-medication on catching fever, saying that it may well be Covid or dengue.

The latest variant of Covid is highly infectious and doctors have long been asking people to get vaccinated on a priority basis.

“The new sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5 are causing re-infections too. The R Nought Value of these variants is 18, which is similar to that of measles and could be the most transmissible viruses. This means each infected person can infect 18 more persons, on an average, though the new variants are considerably less lethal,” Dr Niraj Mishra, a senior physician, said.

The doctor further said, “Only one or two of every 15 persons suffering from fever or cold and cough are going for the Covid test. The test is required to ascertain if someone is infected with Covid or the fever is because of any infection. Besides, it will help the authorities maintain an official record of the spread of the virus.”

Pharmacists said the over-the-counter sale of paracetamol and azythromycin has increased in the last few weeks. People have also started buying cough syrup and other medicines for cold, without consulting doctors.

Experts have also warned that self-medication, even for several small health issues, can lead to serious complications among people and proper awareness on the issue is required.