Health experts in Afghanistan warn self-medication poses serious risks

Health specialists across Afghanistan have warned that self-medication leads to serious health complications, including miscarriages, kidney failure, allergies and drug resistance.

Doctors in Kabul and provinces including Jawzjan, Herat and Ghor shared cases of patients suffering critical conditions after taking medicines without professional advice. Common drugs involved include painkillers, stomach medicines, antibiotics, and treatments for nerves, blood pressure and diabetes.

In Kabul, gynaecologist Dr. Ziba Bahram said she treated patients in critical condition, including some who suffered miscarriages, after they took omeprazole tablets and painkillers for stomach pain without consulting a doctor.

Internal medicine specialist Dr. Abdul Sami Stanikzai described a woman from another province who developed leg and face swelling, leading to kidney failure and haemodialysis, after a year of self-medication to gain weight.

Dr. Syed Farid Shah Rafiee, an internal medicine specialist at Wazir Mohammad Akbar Khan Hospital in Kabul, said no medicine is free from risks and he has seen patients arrive with severe complications, sometimes in shock or after death.

In Jawzjan, Dr. Luqman Baik said he sees five to 10 patients daily with stomach pain, severe allergies and drug resistance from self-medication based on others' advice.

Gynaecologist and surgeon Ferozan Sadat in Herat called self-medication a "silent death," citing a case where one patient's prescription shared with eight women led to uterine cysts in four and the death of one from severe bleeding. In Ghor, internal medicine specialist Fazl-ul-Haq Farjad treated a patient whose self-medication for toothache caused stomach damage.

Patients also shared experiences. Laila from Kabul's Khairkhana area developed a severe allergic reaction after an injection for sore throat recommended by a friend. Salma from Zaranj suffered a miscarriage after taking stomach medicine during pregnancy without medical advice.