Self-medication and inappropriate use of antimicrobials in municipalities of Rondônia in the legal Amazon

Abstract

The irrational use of medicines is strongly influenced by issues such as self-medication, advertising and biased advertising. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), antimicrobials have often been used inappropriately, without observing some criteria, such as: time of use, suggested effective dosage, correct indications, among others, can accelerate the defense mechanisms of bacteria, causing the drug to lose its efficiency. Bacterial resistance is a global health problem, rapidly growing and with varying prevalence between countries, and increasingly becoming a serious problem. The irrational use of antimicrobials can lead to bacteria adapting and multiplying, increasing and promoting antibiotic resistance. Under the practice of storing medicines, it was observed that, according to the data obtained from the forms, in Teixeirópolis, approximately 78%, that is, 39 people interviewed, out of a total of 50, have the habit of storing medicines at home, while in Mirante da Serra 42 (84%) interviewees stated that they do this practice and in the municipality of Ji-Paraná 81 (81%) of the 100 interviewees. Therefore, it is important that there are always permanent actions aimed at health education, which are of a practical and effective nature, capable of involving the entire community so that situations such as the one described in our study are minimized.

DOI:https://doi.org/10.56238/sevened2024.016-027