THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PHARMACIST BEFORE SELF-MEDICATION PERFORMED BY THE ELDERLY

Abstract

Self-medication refers to the use of medication on your own, without a medical prescription or guidance, which can result in serious risks to your health. Most of the time, people end up self-medicating because it offers an easier and faster solution for the relief of frequent symptoms, without considering the importance of seeking a medical service. In view of this, it is important to mention the role of the pharmacist, who plays an important role as a guide and health agent, contributing to the rational use of medicines and reducing problems related to the inappropriate use of drugs, benefiting the entire population, which, in general, easy access to these professionals. The practice of self-medicating can be performed by different age groups. However, it will be up here, as the general objective of this study, to present the importance of the pharmacist's role in combating self-medication carried out by the elderly, in particular. This is a literature review, with the aim of gathering relevant articles and journals on the topic in question, allowing a descriptive qualitative analysis to be carried out. The articles were obtained through databases such as: Scielo, Pubmed and Google Scholar. The descriptors used were: Self-medication; Pharmaceutical; Self-medication in the elderly; Irrational use of medicines; pharmacist and self-medication.