{{Short description|Unsupervised use of drugs and other substances}} {{About|drug use without supervision of a physician|the operant conditioning concept|Self-administration|other uses|Self-medication (disambiguation)}} '''Self-medication''', sometimes called '''do-it-yourself''' ('''DIY''') '''medicine,''' is a human behavior in which an individual uses a substance or any exogenous influence to self-administer treatment for physical or psychological conditions, for example headaches or fatigue.
The substances most widely used in self-medication are over-the-counter drugs and dietary supplements, which are used to treat common health issues at home. These do not require a doctor's prescription to obtain and, in some countries, are available in supermarkets and convenience stores.<ref>{{cite web|title=What is self-Medication? |url=http://www.wsmi.org/about-self-care-and-self-medication/what-is-self-medication/ |publisher=World Self-Medication Industry |access-date=25 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160605074727/http://www.wsmi.org/about-self-care-and-self-medication/what-is-self-medication/ |archive-date= Jun 5, 2016 }}</ref>
The field of psychology surrounding the use of psychoactive drugs is often specifically in relation to the use of recreational drugs, alcohol, comfort food, and other forms of behavior to alleviate symptoms of mental distress, stress and anxiety,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2010/s3035410.htm| title=Distressed doctors pushed to the limit | author=Kirstin Murray | date=2010-11-10 | publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |work=The 7.30 Report | access-date=27 March 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110406133702/http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2010/s3035410.htm |archive-date= Apr 6, 2011 }}</ref> including mental illnesses or psychological trauma.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.indiatoday.in/lifestyle/health/story/addicted-to-alcohol-heres-why-83703-2010-10-11| title=Addicted to alcohol? Here's why | author= Vivek Benegal | date=October 12, 2010 | publisher=India Today | access-date=27 March 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110120155618/http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/116093/Lifestyle/addicted-to-alcohol-heres-why.html |archive-date= Jan 20, 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/oct/10/na-military-suicide-rates-surge/ | title=Military suicide rates surge | author=Howard Altman | date=October 10, 2010 | publisher=Tampa Bay Online | access-date=27 March 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101212020555/http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/oct/10/na-military-suicide-rates-surge/ | archive-date=12 December 2010 }}</ref> Such treatment may cause serious detriment to physical and mental health if motivated by addictive mechanisms.<ref name="Abelman 68">{{Cite journal|last=Abelman|first=Dor David|date=2017-10-06|title=Mitigating risks of students use of study drugs through understanding motivations for use and applying harm reduction theory: a literature review|journal=Harm Reduction Journal|volume=14|issue=1|article-number=68|doi=10.1186/s12954-017-0194-6|pmid=28985738|pmc=5639593|issn=1477-7517 |doi-access=free }}</ref> In postsecondary (university and college) students, self-medication with "study drugs" such as Adderall, Ritalin, and Concerta has been widely reported and discussed in literature.<ref name="Abelman 68"/>
Products are marketed by manufacturers as useful for self-medication, sometimes on the basis of questionable evidence. Claims that nicotine has medicinal value have been used to market cigarettes as self-administered medicines. These claims have been criticized as inaccurate by independent researchers.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1093/schbul/sbm117| issn = 0586-7614| volume = 34| issue = 3| pages = 555–567| last1 = Prochaska| first1 = Judith J.| last2 = Hall| first2 = Sharon M.| last3 = Bero| first3 = Lisa A.| title = Tobacco Use Among Individuals With Schizophrenia: What Role Has the Tobacco Industry Played?| journal = Schizophrenia Bulletin| date = May 2008| pmid = 17984298| pmc = 2632440}}</ref><ref name=notmed>{{cite journal | vauthors = Parrott AC | title = Cigarette-derived nicotine is not a medicine | journal = The World Journal of Biological Psychiatry | volume = 4 | issue = 2 | pages = 49–55 | date = April 2003 | pmid = 12692774 | doi = 10.3109/15622970309167951 | s2cid = 26903942 |url=http://www.psy.swansea.ac.uk/staff/parrott/parrott2003SmokingNotAMedicineWorldJourBiolPsychiat.pdf}}</ref> Unverified and unregulated third-party health claims are used to market dietary supplements.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Reese |first1=Spencer M. |title=Dietary Supplement Marketing - Rethinking the Use of Third Party Material {{!}} MLM Law |url=https://www.mlmlaw.com/articles/dietary-supplements-marketing/ |website=www.mlmlaw.com |publisher=MLM Law Resources site |access-date=14 October 2018 |archive-date=14 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181014091555/https://www.mlmlaw.com/articles/dietary-supplements-marketing/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Self-medication is often seen as gaining personal independence from established medicine,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Benefits and risks of self medication |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11735659/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260301121750/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11735659/ |archive-date=1 March 2026 |access-date=6 April 2026 |doi=10.2165/00002018-200124140-00002 |pmid=11735659}}</ref> and it can be seen as a human right, implicit in, or closely related to the right to refuse professional medical treatment.<ref>[http://jme.bmj.com/content/38/10/579.full.pdf+html Three arguments against prescription requirements], Jessica Flanigan, [http://jme.bmj.com/ BMJ Group] Journal of Medical Ethics 26 July 2012, accessed 20 August 2013</ref> Self-medication can cause unintentional self-harm.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kingon |first1=Angus |title=Non-prescription medications: considerations for the dental practitioner |journal=Annals of the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons |date=2012 |volume=21 |pages=88–90 |issn=0158-1570|pmid=24783837 }}</ref> Self-medication with antibiotics has been identified as one of the primary reasons for the evolution of antimicrobial resistance.<ref name=":2">{{cite journal |vauthors=Rather IA, Kim BC, Bajpai VK, Park YH |date=May 2017 |title=Self-medication and antibiotic resistance: Crisis, current challenges, and prevention |journal=Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences |volume=24 |issue=4 |pages=808–812 |doi=10.1016/j.sjbs.2017.01.004 |pmc=5415144 |pmid=28490950}}</ref>
Sometimes self-medication or DIY medicine occurs because patients disagree with a doctor's interpretation of their condition,<ref name="Fainzang">{{cite journal |last1=Fainzang |first1=Sylvie |date=1 September 2013 |title=The Other Side of Medicalization: Self-Medicalization and Self-Medication |url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02456641/file/The%20Other%20Side%20of%20Medicalization.%20Self-medicalization%20-%20version%20auteur%20FAINZANG.pdf |journal=Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry |volume=37 |issue=3 |pages=488–504 |doi=10.1007/s11013-013-9330-2 |pmid=23820755 |s2cid=35393482}}</ref> to access experimental therapies that are not available to the public,<ref name="Wexler2">{{cite journal |last1=WEXLER |first1=ANNA |date=2022 |title=Mapping the Landscape of Do-it-Yourself Medicine |journal=Citizen Science: Theory and Practice |volume=7 |issue=1 |article-number=38 |doi=10.5334/cstp.553 |issn=2057-4991 |pmc=9830450 |pmid=36632334 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=20 October 2023 |title=This Drug Could Be the Next Ozempic. Bootlegs Are Already Selling Online |url=https://www.wsj.com/health/pharma/the-next-hot-obesity-drug-wont-be-approved-for-years-online-sellers-hawk-it-anyway-e04d7cc3 |access-date=15 December 2023 |work=Wall Street Journal|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260108193516/https://www.wsj.com/health/pharma/the-next-hot-obesity-drug-wont-be-approved-for-years-online-sellers-hawk-it-anyway-e04d7cc3|archive-date=8 January 2026}}</ref> or because of legal bans on healthcare, as in the case of some transgender people<ref>{{cite news |date=5 July 2023 |title=Barriers to trans care lead some to embrace a do-it-yourself approach |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-health-and-wellness/barriers-transgender-health-care-lead-embrace-approach-rcna90458 |access-date=15 December 2023 |work=NBC News |language=en}}</ref> or women seeking self-induced abortion.<ref name="Verma2">{{cite journal |last1=Verma |first1=Nisha |last2=Grossman |first2=Daniel |date=2023 |title=Self-Managed Abortion in the United States |journal=Current Obstetrics and Gynecology Reports |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=70–75 |doi=10.1007/s13669-023-00354-x |issn=2161-3303 |pmc=9989574 |pmid=37305376}}</ref> Other reasons for relying on DIY medical care is to avoid health care prices in the United States<ref>{{cite news |title=Can DIY Medicine Tame Rampaging Healthcare Costs? |url=https://www.the-rheumatologist.org/article/can-diy-medicine-tame-rampaging-healthcare-costs/ |access-date=15 December 2023 |work=The Rheumatologist}}</ref> and anarchist beliefs.<ref name="Vice2">{{cite news |last1=Oberhaus |first1=Daniel |date=26 July 2018 |title=Meet the Anarchists Making Their Own Medicine |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/how-to-make-your-own-medicine-four-thieves-vinegar-collective/ |access-date=15 December 2023 |work=Vice |language=en}}</ref>
==Definition== Generally speaking, self-medication is defined as "the use of drugs to treat self-diagnosed disorders or symptoms, or the intermittent or continued use of a prescribed drug for chronic or recurrent disease or symptoms".<ref name='WHO/EDM/QSM/00.1'> {{citation |author1=D. Bowen |author2=G. Kisuule |author3=H. Ogasawara |author4=Ch. J. P. Siregar |author5=G. A. Williams |author6=C. Hall |author7=G. Lingam |author8=S. Mann |author9=J. A. Reinstein |author10=M. Couper |author11=J. Idänpään-Heikkilä |author12=J. Yoshida | contribution = Guidelines for the Regulatory Assessment of Medicinal Products for use in Self-Medication | title = WHO/EDM/QSM/00.1 | publisher = World Health Organization | place = Geneva | year = 2000 | contribution-url = https://apps.who.int/medicinedocs/pdf/s2218e/s2218e.pdf |contribution-format = PDF | access-date = 2012-09-02}}</ref><ref name='Awad 2005-08-12'/>
Self-medication can be defined as the use of drugs to treat an illness or symptom when the user is not a medically qualified professional. The term is also used to include the use of drugs outside their license or off-label.
==Psychology and psychiatry==
===Self-medication hypothesis=== As different drugs have different effects, they may be used for different reasons. According to the self-medication hypothesis (SMH), the individuals' choice of a particular drug is not accidental or coincidental, but instead, a result of the individuals' psychological condition, as the drug of choice provides relief to the user specific to his or her condition. Specifically, addiction is hypothesized to function as a compensatory means to modulate effects and treat distressful psychological states, whereby individuals choose the drug that will most appropriately manage their specific type of psychiatric distress and help them achieve emotional stability.<ref name=Khantzian1997>{{cite journal | author = Khantzian E.J. | year = 1997 | title = The self-medication hypothesis of drug use disorders: A reconsideration and recent applications | journal = Harvard Review of Psychiatry | volume = 4 | issue = 5| pages = 231–244 | doi=10.3109/10673229709030550 | pmid=9385000| s2cid = 39531697 }}</ref><ref name=Khantzian2003>{{cite journal | author = Khantzian E.J. | year = 2003 | title = The self-medication hypothesis revisited: The dually diagnosed patient | journal = Primary Psychiatry | volume = 10 | pages = 47–48, 53–54 }}</ref>
The self-medication hypothesis (SMH) originated in papers by Edward Khantzian, Mack and Schatzberg,<ref name=Khantzian1974>Khantzian, E.J., Mack, J.F., & Schatzberg, A.F. (1974). [http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/131/2/160 Heroin use as an attempt to cope: Clinical observations.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612005846/http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/131/2/160 |date=2011-06-12 }} American Journal of Psychiatry, 131, 160-164.</ref> David F. Duncan,<ref name=Duncan1974a>{{cite journal | author = Duncan D.F. | year = 1974a | title = Reinforcement of drug abuse: Implications for prevention | journal = Clinical Toxicology Bulletin | volume = 4 | pages = 69–75 }}</ref> and a response to Khantzian by Duncan.<ref name=Duncan1974b>Duncan, D.F. (1974b). [http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/citation/131/6/724 Letter: Drug abuse as a coping mechanism.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612005712/http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/citation/131/6/724 |date=2011-06-12 }} American Journal of Psychiatry, 131, 174.</ref> The SMH initially focused on heroin use, but a follow-up paper added cocaine.<ref name=Khantzian1985>Khantzian, E.J. (1985). [http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/142/11/1259 The self-medication hypothesis of addictive disorders: Focus on heroin and cocaine dependence.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612005812/http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/142/11/1259 |date=2011-06-12 }} American Journal of Psychiatry, 142, 1259–1264.</ref> The SMH was later expanded to include alcohol,<ref name=Khantzian1990>Khantzian, E.J., Halliday, K.S., & McAuliffe, W.E. (1990). Addiction and the vulnerable self: Modified dynamic group therapy for drug abusers. New York: Guilford Press.</ref> and finally all drugs of addiction.<ref name=Khantzian1997/><ref name=Khantzian1999 >Khantzian, E.J. (1999). Treating addiction as a human process. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson.</ref><ref name="Abelman 68"/>
According to Khantzian's view of addiction, drug users compensate for deficient ego function<ref name=Khantzian1974/> by using a drug as an "ego solvent", which acts on parts of the self that are cut off from consciousness by defense mechanisms.<ref name=Khantzian1997/> According to Khantzian,<ref name=Khantzian1985/> drug dependent individuals generally experience more psychiatric distress than non-drug dependent individuals, and the development of drug dependence involves the gradual incorporation of the drug effects and the need to sustain these effects into the defensive structure-building activity of the ego itself. The addict's choice of drug is a result of the interaction between the psychopharmacologic properties of the drug and the affective states from which the addict was seeking relief. The drug's effects substitute for defective or non-existent ego mechanisms of defense. The addict's drug of choice, therefore, is not random.
While Khantzian takes a psychodynamic approach to self-medication, Duncan's model focuses on behavioral factors. Duncan described the nature of positive reinforcement (e.g., the "high feeling", approval from peers), negative reinforcement (e.g. reduction of negative affect) and avoidance of withdrawal symptoms, all of which are seen in those who develop problematic drug use, but are not all found in all recreational drug users.<ref name=Duncan1974a/> While earlier behavioral formulations of drug dependence using operant conditioning maintained that positive and negative reinforcement were necessary for drug dependence, Duncan maintained that drug dependence was not maintained by positive reinforcement, but rather by negative reinforcement. Duncan applied a public health model to drug dependence, where the agent (the drug of choice) infects the host (the drug user) through a vector (e.g., peers), while the environment supports the disease process, through stressors and lack of support.<ref name=Duncan1974a/><ref name=Duncan1975>{{cite journal | author = Duncan D.F. | year = 1975 | title = The acquisition, maintenance and treatment of polydrug dependence: A public health model | url = http://www.duncan-associates.com/PUBLICHEALTHMODEL.htm | journal = Journal of Psychedelic Drugs | volume = 7 | issue = 2| pages = 209–213 | doi=10.1080/02791072.1975.10472000| url-access = subscription }}</ref>
Khantzian revisited the SMH, suggesting there is more evidence that psychiatric symptoms, rather than personality styles, lie at the heart of drug use disorders.<ref name= Khantzian1997/> Khantzian specified that the two crucial aspects of the SMH were that (1) drugs of abuse produce a relief from psychological suffering and (2) the individual's preference for a particular drug is based on its psychopharmacological properties.<ref name=Khantzian1997/> The individual's drug of choice is determined through experimentation, whereby the interaction of the main effects of the drug, the individual's inner psychological turmoil, and underlying personality traits identify the drug that produces the desired effects.<ref name=Khantzian1997/>
Meanwhile, Duncan's work focuses on the difference between recreational and problematic drug use.<ref name=Duncan1983>Duncan, D.F., & Gold, R.S. (1983). Cultivating drug use: A strategy for the 80s. Bulletin of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors, 2, 143-147. http://www.addictioninfo.org/articles/263/1/Cultivating-Drug-Use/Page1.html</ref> Data obtained in the Epidemiologic Catchment Area Study demonstrated that only 20% of drug users ever experience an episode of drug abuse (Anthony & Helzer, 1991), while data obtained from the National Comorbidity Study demonstrated that only 15% of alcohol users and 15% of illicit drug users ever become dependent.<ref>Anthony, J., Warner, L., & Kessler, R. (1994). Comparative epidemiology of dependence on tobacco, alcohol, controlled substances and inhalants: Basic findings from the National Comorbidity Study. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 2, 244-268.</ref> A crucial determinant of whether a drug user develops drug abuse is the presence or absence of negative reinforcement, which is experienced by problematic users, but not by recreational users.<ref name=Nicholson>{{cite journal | author = Nicholson T., Duncan D.F., White J.B. | year = 2002 | title = Is recreational drug use normal? | url = http://www.duncan-associates.com/Is-Recreational-Drug-Use-Normal.pdf | journal = Journal of Substance Use | volume = 7 | issue = 3| pages = 116–123 | doi=10.3109/14659890209169340}}</ref> According to Duncan, drug dependence is an avoidance behavior, where an individual finds a drug that produces a temporary escape from a problem, and taking the drug is reinforced as an operant behavior.<ref name=Duncan1974a/>
===Specific mechanisms=== Some people who have a mental illness attempt to correct their illnesses by using certain drugs. Depression is often self-medicated by the use of alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, or other mind-altering drugs.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080628234713/http://jap.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/5/3/80 Self-Medication With Alcohol and Drugs by Persons With Severe Mental Illness]</ref> While this may provide immediate relief of some symptoms such as anxiety, it may evoke and/or exacerbate some symptoms of several kinds of mental illnesses that are already latently present,<ref>[http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/addiction/issues/mentalillness.html Mental Illness: The Challenge Of Dual Diagnosis] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090308081754/http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/addiction/issues/mentalillness.html |date=2009-03-08 }}</ref> and may lead to addiction or physical dependency, among other side effects of long-term use of the drug. This does not differ significantly from the potential effects of drugs provided by physicians, which are equally capable of producing dependency and/or addiction and also have side effects arising from long-term use.
People with post-traumatic stress disorder have been known to self-medicate, as well as many individuals without this diagnosis who have experienced psychological trauma.<ref>[http://www.mnwelldir.org/docs/mental_health/ptsd.htm Post Traumatic Stress Disorder]</ref>
Due to the different effects of the different classes of drugs, the SMH postulates that the appeal of a specific class of drugs differs from person to person. In fact, some drugs may be aversive for individuals for whom the effects could worsen affective deficits.<ref name=Khantzian1997/>
====CNS depressants==== Alcohol and sedative/hypnotic drugs, such as barbiturates and benzodiazepines, are central nervous system (CNS) depressants that lower inhibitions via anxiolysis. Depressants produce feelings of relaxation and sedation, while relieving feelings of depression and anxiety. Though they are generally ineffective antidepressants, as most are short-acting, the rapid onset of alcohol and sedative/hypnotics softens rigid defenses and, in low to moderate doses, provides relief from depressive affect and anxiety.<ref name=Khantzian1997/><ref name=Khantzian2003/> As alcohol also lowers inhibitions, alcohol is also hypothesized to be used by those who normally constrain emotions by attenuating intense emotions in high or obliterating doses, which allows them to express feelings of affection, aggression and closeness.<ref name=Khantzian2003/><ref name=Khantzian1999/> Most patients that have been hospitalized for substance use or alcohol dependence reported using drugs in response to depressive symptoms; self-medication makes diagnosing a psychiatric disorder very difficult in substance abusers. This type of misuse is more likely in men than in women. <ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Weiss |first1=Roger D. |last2=Griffin |first2=Margaret L. |last3=Mirin |first3=Steven M. |date=1992-01-01 |title=Drug Abuse as Self-Medication for Depression: An Empirical Study |journal=The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=121–129 |doi=10.3109/00952999208992825 |issn=0095-2990 |pmid=1562010}}</ref>
=====Alcohol===== {{main|Alcohol (drug)#Self-medication}}
People with social anxiety disorder commonly use alcohol to overcome their highly set inhibitions.<ref>Sarah W. Book, M.D., and Carrie L. Randall, Ph.D. [https://web.archive.org/web/20060105181514/http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh26-2/130-135.htm Social anxiety disorder and alcohol use]. Alcohol Research and Health, 2002.</ref>
====Psychostimulants==== Psychostimulants, such as cocaine, amphetamines, methylphenidate, caffeine, and nicotine, produce improvements in physical and mental functioning, including increased energy and alertness. Stimulants tend to be most widely used by people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which can either be diagnosed or undiagnosed. Because a significant portion of people with ADHD have not been diagnosed they are more prone to using stimulants like caffeine, nicotine or pseudoephedrine to mitigate their symptoms. Unawareness concerning the effects of illicit substances such as cocaine, methamphetamine or mephedrone can result in self-medication with these drugs by individuals affected with ADHD symptoms. This self medication can effectively prevent them from getting diagnosed with ADHD and receiving treatment with stimulants like methylphenidate and amphetamines.
Stimulants also can be beneficial for individuals who experience depression, to reduce anhedonia<ref name=Khantzian2003/> and increase self-esteem,<ref name= Khantzian1990/> however in some cases depression may occur as a comorbid condition originating from the prolonged presence of negative symptoms of undiagnosed ADHD, which can impair executive functions, resulting in lack of motivation, focus and contentment with one's life, so stimulants may be useful for treating treatment-resistant depression, especially in individuals thought to have ADHD. The SMH also hypothesizes that hyperactive and hypomanic individuals use stimulants to maintain their restlessness and heighten euphoria.<ref name=Khantzian2003/><ref name=Khantzian1985/><ref name=Khantzian1990/> Additionally, stimulants are useful to individuals with social anxiety by helping individuals break through their inhibitions.<ref name= Khantzian2003/> Some reviews suggest that students use psychostimulants to self medicate for underlying conditions, such as ADHD, depression or anxiety.<ref name="Abelman 68"/>
====Opiates==== Opiates, such as heroin and morphine, function as an analgesic by binding to opioid receptors in the brain and gastrointestinal tract. This binding reduces the perception of and reaction to pain, while also increasing pain tolerance. Opiates are hypothesized to be used as self-medication for aggression and rage.<ref name=Khantzian1985/><ref name= Khantzian1999/> Opiates are effective anxiolytics, mood stabilizers, and anti-depressants, however, people tend to self-medicate anxiety and depression with depressants and stimulants respectively, though this is by no means an absolute analysis.<ref name=Khantzian2003/><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Crum |first1=Rosa M. |last2=La Flair |first2=Lareina |last3=Storr |first3=Carla L. |last4=Green |first4=Kerry M. |last5=Stuart |first5=Elizabeth A. |last6=Alvanzo |first6=Anika A. H. |last7=Lazareck |first7=Samuel |last8=Bolton |first8=James M. |last9=Robinson |first9=Jennifer |last10=Sareen |first10=Jitender |last11=Mojtabai |first11=Ramin |title=Reports of Drinking to Self-Medicate Anxiety Symptoms: Longitudinal Assessment for Subgroups of Individuals with Alcohol Dependence |date=20 December 2012 |journal=Depression and Anxiety |volume=30 |issue=2 |pages=174–183 |doi=10.1002/da.22024 |pmid=23280888 |pmc=4154590 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Khantzian |first=E J |date=Jan–Feb 1997 |title=The self-medication hypothesis of substance use disorders: a reconsideration and recent applications |journal=Harvard Review of Psychiatry |volume=4 |issue=5 |pages=231–244 |doi=10.3109/10673229709030550 |pmid=9385000 |s2cid=39531697 }}</ref>
Modern research into novel antidepressants targeting opioid receptors suggests that endogenous opioid dysregulation may play a role in medical conditions including anxiety disorders, clinical depression, and borderline personality disorder.<ref name="pmid20438240">{{cite journal | author = Bandelow; Schmahl; Falkai; Wedekind | title = Borderline personality disorder: a dysregulation of the endogenous opioid system? | journal = Psychol. Rev. | volume = 117 | issue = 2 | pages = 623–636 | date = April 2010 | pmid = 20438240 | doi = 10.1037/a0018095 }}</ref><ref name="pmid31913981">{{cite journal | author = Browne; Jacobson; Lucki | title = Novel Targets to Treat Depression: Opioid-Based Therapeutics | journal = Harv Rev Psychiatry | volume = 28 | issue = 1 | pages = 40–59 | date = February 2020 | pmid = 31913981 | doi = 10.1097/HRP.0000000000000242 | s2cid = 210120636 }}</ref><ref name="pmid29955162">{{cite journal | first1 = Marta | last1 = Peciña | first2 = Jordan F | last2 = Karp |first3 = Sanjay | last3 = Mathew | first4 = Mark S | last4 = Todtenkopf |first5 = Elliot W | last5 = Ehrich |first6 = Jon-Kar | last6 = Zubieta | title = Endogenous opioid system dysregulation in depression: implications for new therapeutic approaches | journal = Molecular Psychiatry | volume = 24 | issue = 4 | pages = 576–587 | date = April 2019 | pmid = 29955162 | doi = 10.1038/s41380-018-0117-2 | pmc = 6310672 | doi-access = free }}</ref> BPD is typically characterized by sensitivity to rejection, isolation, and perceived failure, all of which are forms of psychological pain.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Stiglmayr CE, Grathwol T, Linehan MM, Ihorst G, Fahrenberg J, Bohus M |title=Aversive tension in patients with borderline personality disorder: a computer-based controlled field study |journal= Acta Psychiatr Scand |volume=111 |issue=5 |pages=372–9 |date=May 2005 |pmid=15819731 |doi=10.1111/j.1600-0447.2004.00466.x|s2cid=30951552 }}</ref> As research suggests that psychological pain and physiological pain both share the same underlying mechanism, it is likely that under the self-medication hypothesis some or most recreational opioid users are attempting to alleviate psychological pain with opioids in the same way opioids are used to treat physiological pain.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The neural bases of social pain: Evidence for shared representations with physical pain|pmid=22286852|doi=10.1097/PSY.0b013e3182464dd1|volume=74|issue=2|pages=126–35|journal=Psychosomatic Medicine|year=2012 | last1 = Eisenberger | first1 = NI|pmc=3273616}}</ref><ref name="mee_2006">{{cite journal | author = Mee, S, Bunney, BG, Reist, C, Potkin, SG, & Bunney, WE.| title = Psychological pain: a review of evidence| journal = Journal of Psychiatric Research| volume = 40 | issue = 8 | pages = 680–90 | year = 2006 | pmid = 16725157| pmc = | doi = 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2006.03.003 | url = | issn= }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Eisenberger | first1 = Naomi I. | last2 = Lieberman | first2 = Matthew D. |date=Jul 2004 | title = Why rejection hurts: a common neural alarm system for physical and social pain | journal = Trends Cogn Sci | volume = 8 | issue = 7| pages = 294–300 | doi = 10.1016/j.tics.2004.05.010 | pmid=15242688| s2cid = 15893740 }}</ref><ref name="meerwijk_2012">{{cite journal | author = Meerwijk, EL, Ford, JM, & Weiss, SJ.| title = Brain regions associated with psychological pain: implications for a neural network and its relationship to physical pain| journal = Brain Imaging Behav| volume = 7| issue = 1| pages = 1–14| year = 2012 | pmid = 22660945| pmc = | doi = 10.1007/s11682-012-9179-y | s2cid = 8755398| issn= }}</ref>
====Cannabis==== {{also|Cannabis use and trauma}}
Cannabis is paradoxical in that it may produce either stimulating, sedating, or a timely combination of both effects; as well as mildly psychedelic and both anxiolytic or anxiogenic properties being possible, depending on the individual and circumstances of use. Depressant properties are more obvious in occasional users, and stimulating properties are more common in chronic users. Khantzian noted that research had not sufficiently addressed a theoretical mechanism for cannabis, and therefore did not include it in the SMH.<ref name=Khantzian2003/>
===Effectiveness=== Self-medicating excessively for prolonged periods of time with benzodiazepines or alcohol often makes the symptoms of anxiety or depression worse. This is believed to occur as a result of the changes in brain chemistry from long-term use.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Professor C Heather Ashton |url=https://www.benzo.org.uk/ashbzoc.htm |year=1987 |title= Benzodiazepine Withdrawal: Outcome in 50 Patients |journal=British Journal of Addiction |volume=82 |pages=655–671}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Michelini S |author2=Cassano GB |author3=Frare F |author4=Perugi G |date=July 1996 |title=Long-term use of benzodiazepines: tolerance, dependence and clinical problems in anxiety and mood disorders |journal= Pharmacopsychiatry |volume=29 |issue=4 |pages=127–34 |pmid=8858711 |doi=10.1055/s-2007-979558|s2cid=19145509 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Wetterling T |author2=Junghanns K |date=Dec 2000 |title=Psychopathology of alcoholics during withdrawal and early abstinence |journal=Eur Psychiatry |volume=15 |issue=8 |pages=483–8 |pmid=11175926 |doi=10.1016/S0924-9338(00)00519-8|s2cid=24094651 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Cowley DS |date=Jan 1, 1992 |title=Alcohol abuse, substance abuse, and panic disorder |journal=Am J Med |volume=92 |issue=1A |pages=41S–8S |pmid=1346485 |doi=10.1016/0002-9343(92)90136-Y}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Cosci F |author2=Schruers KR |author3=Abrams K |author4=Griez EJ |date=Jun 2007 |title=Alcohol use disorders and panic disorder: a review of the evidence of a direct relationship |journal=J Clin Psychiatry |volume=68 |issue=6 |pages=874–80 |pmid=17592911 |doi=10.4088/JCP.v68n0608}}</ref> Of those who seek help from mental health services for conditions including anxiety disorders such as panic disorder or social phobia, approximately half have alcohol or benzodiazepine dependence issues.<ref name=pmid7769598/>
Sometimes anxiety precedes alcohol or benzodiazepine dependence but the alcohol or benzodiazepine dependence acts to keep the anxiety disorders going, often progressively making them worse. However, some people addicted to alcohol or benzodiazepines, when it is explained to them that they have a choice between ongoing poor mental health or quitting and recovering from their symptoms, decide on quitting alcohol or benzodiazepines or both. It has been noted that every individual has an individual sensitivity level to alcohol or sedative hypnotic drugs, and what one person can tolerate without ill health, may cause another to experience very ill health, and even moderate drinking can cause rebound anxiety syndrome and sleep disorders. A person experiencing the toxic effects of alcohol will not benefit from other therapies or medications, as these do not address the root cause of the symptoms.<ref name=pmid7769598>{{cite journal |author=Cohen SI |title=Alcohol and benzodiazepines generate anxiety, panic and phobias |journal=J R Soc Med |volume=88 |issue=2 |pages=73–7 |date=February 1995 |pmid=7769598 |pmc=1295099 }}</ref>
Nicotine addiction seems to worsen mental health problems. Nicotine withdrawal depresses mood, increases anxiety and stress, and disrupts sleep. Although nicotine products temporarily relieve their nicotine withdrawal symptoms, an addiction causes stress and mood to be worse on average, due to mild withdrawal symptoms between hits. Nicotine addicts need the nicotine to temporarily feel normal.<ref name=notmed/><ref name=dose>{{cite journal | vauthors = Parrott AC | title = Nicotine psychobiology: how chronic-dose prospective studies can illuminate some of the theoretical issues from acute-dose research | journal = Psychopharmacology | volume = 184 | issue = 3–4 | pages = 567–76 | date = March 2006 | pmid = 16463194 | doi = 10.1007/s00213-005-0294-y | s2cid = 11356233 }}</ref> Nicotine industry marketing has claimed that nicotine is both less harmful and therapeutic for people with mental illness, and is a form of self-medication. This claim has been criticised by independent researchers.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>
Self medicating is a very common precursor to full addictions and the habitual use of any addictive drug has been demonstrated to greatly increase the risk of addiction to additional substances due to long-term neuronal changes.{{citation needed|date=December 2017}} Addiction to any/every drug of abuse tested so far has been correlated with an enduring reduction in the expression of GLT1 (EAAT2) in the nucleus accumbens and is implicated in the drug-seeking behavior expressed nearly universally across all documented addiction syndromes. This long-term dysregulation of glutamate transmission is associated with an increase in vulnerability to both relapse-events after re-exposure to drug-use triggers as well as an overall increase in the likelihood of developing addiction to other reinforcing drugs. Drugs which help to re-stabilize the glutamate system such as N-acetylcysteine have been proposed for the treatment of addiction to cocaine, nicotine, and alcohol.<ref name="pmid24442756">{{cite journal | vauthors = McClure EA, Gipson CD, Malcolm RJ, Kalivas PW, Gray KM | title = Potential role of N-acetylcysteine in the management of substance use disorders | journal = CNS Drugs | volume = 28 | issue = 2 | pages = 95–106 | year = 2014 | pmid = 24442756 | pmc = 4009342 | doi = 10.1007/s40263-014-0142-x }}</ref>
==Infectious diseases== In 89% of countries, antibiotics can be prescribed only by a doctor and supplied only by a pharmacy.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |title=Global Database for Tracking Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Country Self- Assessment Survey (TrACSS) |url=https://amrcountryprogress.org/ |access-date=2023-03-28 |website=amrcountryprogress.org |language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260309101859/https://amrcountryprogress.org/|archive-date=9 March 2026}}</ref> Self-medication with antibiotics is defined as "the taking of medicines on one's own initiative or on another person's suggestion, who is not a certified medical professional". It has been identified as one of the primary reasons for the evolution of antimicrobial resistance.<ref name=":2" />
Self-medication with antibiotics is an unsuitable way of using them but a common practice in developing countries.<ref name="nft1">{{cite journal |vauthors=Torres NF, Chibi B, Middleton LE, Solomon VP, Mashamba-Thompson TP |date=March 2019 |title=Evidence of factors influencing self-medication with antibiotics in low and middle-income countries: a systematic scoping review |journal=Public Health |volume=168 |pages=92–101 |doi=10.1016/j.puhe.2018.11.018 |pmid=30716570|s2cid=73434085 }}</ref> Many people resort to that out of necessity when access to a physician is unavailable because of lockdowns and GP surgery closures, or when the patients have a limited amount of time or money to see a prescribing doctor.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Ayukekbong JA, Ntemgwa M, Atabe AN |date=2017-05-15 |title=The threat of antimicrobial resistance in developing countries: causes and control strategies |journal=Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control |volume=6 |issue=1 |article-number=47 |doi=10.1186/s13756-017-0208-x |pmc=5433038 |pmid=28515903 |doi-access=free }}</ref> While being cited as an important alternative to a formal healthcare system where it may be lacking, self-medication can pose a risk to both the patient and community as a whole. The reasons behind self-medication are unique to each region and can relate to health system, societal, economic, health factors, gender, and age. Risks include allergies, lack of cure, and even death.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ocan |first1=M |last2=Obuku |first2=EA |last3=Bwanga |first3=F |last4=Akena |first4=D |last5=Richard |first5=S |last6=Ogwal-Okeng |first6=J |last7=Obua |first7=C |title=Household antimicrobial self-medication: a systematic review and meta-analysis of the burden, risk factors and outcomes in developing countries. |journal=BMC Public Health |date=1 August 2015 |volume=15 |article-number=742 |doi=10.1186/s12889-015-2109-3 |pmid=26231758|pmc=4522083 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
Besides developing countries, self-medication with antibiotics is also a problem for higher-income countries. In the European Union the average prevalence was 7% in 2016 with the highest rates in southern countries. There are high rates of self-medication with antibiotics in Russia (83%), Central America (19%) and Latin America (14-26%) too.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lescure |first1=Dominique |last2=Paget |first2=John |last3=Schellevis |first3=Francois |last4=van Dijk |first4=Liset |date=2018 |title=Determinants of Self-Medication With Antibiotics in European and Anglo-Saxon Countries: A Systematic Review of the Literature |journal=Frontiers in Public Health |volume=6 |article-number=370 |doi=10.3389/fpubh.2018.00370 |issn=2296-2565 |pmc=6304439 |pmid=30619809 |bibcode=2018FrPH....6..370L |doi-access=free }}</ref>
Two significant issues with self-medication are the lack of knowledge of the public on, firstly, the dangerous effects of certain antimicrobials (for example, ciprofloxacin, which can cause tendonitis, tendon rupture and aortic dissection)<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Chen |first1=Can |last2=Patterson |first2=Benjamin |last3=Simpson |first3=Ruan |last4=Li |first4=Yanli |last5=Chen |first5=Zhangzhang |last6=Lv |first6=Qianzhou |last7=Guo |first7=Daqiao |last8=Li |first8=Xiaoyu |last9=Fu |first9=Weiguo |last10=Guo |first10=Baolei |date=2022-08-09 |title=Do fluoroquinolones increase aortic aneurysm or dissection incidence and mortality? A systematic review and meta-analysis |journal=Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine |volume=9 |article-number=949538 |doi=10.3389/fcvm.2022.949538 |issn=2297-055X |pmc=9396038 |pmid=36017083 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Shu |first1=Yamin |last2=Zhang |first2=Qilin |last3=He |first3=Xucheng |last4=Liu |first4=Yanxin |last5=Wu |first5=Pan |last6=Chen |first6=Li |date=2022-09-06 |title=Fluoroquinolone-associated suspected tendonitis and tendon rupture: A pharmacovigilance analysis from 2016 to 2021 based on the FAERS database |journal=Frontiers in Pharmacology |volume=13 |article-number=990241 |doi=10.3389/fphar.2022.990241 |issn=1663-9812 |pmc=9486157 |pmid=36147351 |doi-access=free }}</ref> and, secondly, broad microbial resistance and when to seek medical care if the infection is not clearing.<ref name=":23">{{cite journal |vauthors=Rather IA, Kim BC, Bajpai VK, Park YH |date=May 2017 |title=Self-medication and antibiotic resistance: Crisis, current challenges, and prevention |journal=Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences |volume=24 |issue=4 |pages=808–812 |doi=10.1016/j.sjbs.2017.01.004 |pmc=5415144 |pmid=28490950}}</ref>
Also inappropriate use of over-the-counter ibuprofen or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs during winter influenza outbreaks can lead to death, e.g. due to haemorrhagic duodenitis induced by ibuprofen, or the consequences of exceeding the recommended doses of paracetamol by combining doses of the generic product with proprietary flu-remedies and Tylex (paracetamol and codeine).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Stevenson |first1=R |last2=MacWalter |first2=R |last3=Harmse |first3=J |title=Mortality during the winter flu epidemic--two cases of death associated with self-medication |journal=Scottish Medical Journal |date=1 June 2001 |volume=46 |issue=3 |pages=84–86 |doi=10.1177/003693300104600307 |pmid=11501327 |s2cid=30009395 }}</ref>
In a questionnaire designed to evaluate self-medication rates amongst the population of Khartoum, Sudan, 48.1% of respondents reported self-medicating with antibiotics within the past 30 days, whereas 43.4% reported self-medicating with antimalarials, and 17.5% reported self-medicating with both. Overall, the total prevalence of reported self-medication with one or both classes of anti-infective agents within the past month was 73.9%.<ref name='Awad 2005-08-12'>{{cite journal | title = Self-medication with antibiotics and antimalarials in the community of Khartoum State, Sudan. | journal = Journal of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences | date = 2005-08-12 | first = Abdelmoneim | last = Awad |author2=Idris Eltayeb |author3=Lloyd Matowe |author4=Lukman Thalib | volume = 8 | issue = 2 | pages = 326–331 | url = https://www.ualberta.ca/~csps/JPPS8%282%29/A.Awad/sudan.htm | access-date = 2012-09-02 | pmid=16124943}}</ref> Furthermore, according to the associated study, data indicated that self-medication "varies significantly with a number of socio-economic characteristics" and the "main reason that was indicated for the self-medication was financial constraints".<ref name='Awad 2005-08-12'/>
Similarly, in a survey of university students in southern China, 47.8% of respondents reported self-medicating with antibiotics.<ref name='Pan 2012-07-20'>{{cite journal | title = Prior Knowledge, Older Age, and Higher Allowance Are Risk Factors for Self-Medication with Antibiotics among University Students in Southern China | journal = PLOS ONE | date = 2012-07-20 | first = Hui | last = Pan | editor-first = Richard | editor-last = Fielding |author2=Binglin Cui |author3=Dangui Zhang |author4=Jeremy Farrar |author5=Frieda Law |author6=William Ba-Thein | volume = 7 | issue = 7 | doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0041314 | article-number=e41314 | pmid=22911779 | pmc=3401104| bibcode = 2012PLoSO...741314P | doi-access = free}}</ref>
== Other uses == One area of DIY medicine is self-administered pharmaceutical drugs that are obtained without a prescription, as in the case of DIY transgender hormone therapy which is common among transgender people.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Edenfield |first1=Avery C. |last2=Holmes |first2=Steve |last3=Colton |first3=Jared S. |date=3 July 2019 |title=Queering Tactical Technical Communication: DIY HRT |journal=Technical Communication Quarterly |volume=28 |issue=3 |pages=177–191 |doi=10.1080/10572252.2019.1607906 |s2cid=151159278}}</ref> Prescription-only lifestyle drugs such as those to treat erectile dysfunction, male pattern baldness, and obesity are often purchased online by people who have no diagnosis or prescription.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jannini |first1=Emmanuele A. |last2=Lenzi |first2=Andrea |last3=Isidori |first3=Andrea |last4=Fabbri |first4=Andrea |date=September 2006 |title=COMMENTARY: Subclinical Erectile Dysfunction: Proposal for a Novel Taxonomic Category in Sexual Medicine |journal=The Journal of Sexual Medicine |volume=3 |issue=5 |pages=787–794 |doi=10.1111/j.1743-6109.2006.00287.x |pmid=16942523}}</ref><ref name="Lavorgna2">{{cite journal |last1=Lavorgna |first1=Anita |date=March 2015 |title=The online trade in counterfeit pharmaceuticals: New criminal opportunities, trends and challenges |journal=European Journal of Criminology |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=226–241 |doi=10.1177/1477370814554722 |s2cid=145354387}}</ref> In 2017, the United Kingdom legalized the sale of sildenafil (Viagra) over the counter in part to cut down on the number of men buying it online from unlicensed pharmacies.<ref>{{cite news |date=28 November 2017 |title=Viagra can be sold over the counter |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/health-42155489 |access-date=15 December 2023}}</ref>
Self-managed abortion with medication is safe and effective, but is illegal in some jurisdictions.<ref name="Verma">{{cite journal |last1=Verma |first1=Nisha |last2=Grossman |first2=Daniel |date=2023 |title=Self-Managed Abortion in the United States |journal=Current Obstetrics and Gynecology Reports |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=70–75 |doi=10.1007/s13669-023-00354-x |issn=2161-3303 |pmc=9989574 |pmid=37305376}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Moseson |first1=Heidi |last2=Bullard |first2=Kimberley A. |last3=Cisternas |first3=Carolina |last4=Grosso |first4=Belén |last5=Vera |first5=Verónica |last6=Gerdts |first6=Caitlin |date=August 2020 |title=Effectiveness of self-managed medication abortion between 13 and 24 weeks gestation: A retrospective review of case records from accompaniment groups in Argentina, Chile, and Ecuador |journal=Contraception |volume=102 |issue=2 |pages=91–98 |doi=10.1016/j.contraception.2020.04.015 |pmid=32360817 |s2cid=218490175}}</ref> Before the current medication had been developed and in places where abortion is illegal, people may resort to unsafe methods of self-managed abortion.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Berer |first1=Marge |date=2020 |title=Reconceptualizing safe abortion and abortion services in the age of abortion pills: A discussion paper |journal=Best Practice & Research Clinical Obstetrics & Gynaecology |language=en |volume=63 |pages=45–55 |doi=10.1016/j.bpobgyn.2019.07.012 |pmid=31494046 |s2cid=201156994}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Jackson |first1=Emily |title=Inspiring a Medico-Legal Revolution |date=2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-315-58879-7 |chapter=DIY Abortion and Harm Reduction |doi=10.4324/9781315588797 |chapter-url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315588797-3/diy-abortion-harm-reduction-emily-jackson}}</ref>
Another area is the creation of medical devices, such as PPE for protection against COVID-19<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Richterich |first1=Annika |date=3 May 2020 |title=When open source design is vital: critical making of DIY healthcare equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic |journal=Health Sociology Review |volume=29 |issue=2 |pages=158–167 |doi=10.1080/14461242.2020.1784772 |pmid=33411651 |doi-access=free}}</ref> and epinephrine injectors.<ref name="Vice">{{cite news |last1=Oberhaus |first1=Daniel |date=26 July 2018 |title=Meet the Anarchists Making Their Own Medicine |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/how-to-make-your-own-medicine-four-thieves-vinegar-collective/ |access-date=15 December 2023 |work=Vice |language=en}}</ref> Some people with insulin-dependent diabetes have created their own automated insulin delivery systems.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Burnside |first1=Mercedes |last2=Crocket |first2=Hamish |last3=Mayo |first3=Michael |last4=Pickering |first4=John |last5=Tappe |first5=Adrian |last6=de Bock |first6=Martin |date=September 2020 |title=Do-It-Yourself Automated Insulin Delivery: A Leading Example of the Democratization of Medicine |journal=Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology |volume=14 |issue=5 |pages=878–882 |doi=10.1177/1932296819890623 |pmc=7753855 |pmid=31876179}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Roberts |first1=Joseph T.F. |last2=Moore |first2=Victoria |last3=Quigley |first3=Muireann |date=March 2021 |title=Prescribing unapproved medical devices? The case of DIY artificial pancreas systems |journal=Medical Law International |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=42–68 |doi=10.1177/0968533221997510 |pmc=8053740 |pmid=33958837}}</ref> One review found that "the quality of glucose control achieved with DIY AID systems is impressively good".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Heinemann |first1=Lutz |author-link1=Lutz Heinemann |last2=Lange |first2=Karin |date=November 2020 |title="Do It Yourself" (DIY)—Automated Insulin Delivery (AID) Systems: Current Status From a German Point of View |journal=Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology |volume=14 |issue=6 |pages=1028–1034 |doi=10.1177/1932296819889641 |pmc=7645134 |pmid=31875681}}</ref> With DIY brain stimulation, individuals with depression create their own devices to access an experimental treatment.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wexler |first1=Anna |date=1 March 2017 |title=Recurrent themes in the history of the home use of electrical stimulation: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and the medical battery (1870–1920) |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1935861X16303825 |journal=Brain Stimulation |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=187–195 |doi=10.1016/j.brs.2016.11.081 |issn=1935-861X |pmid=27965065 |s2cid=21868698|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="Wexler">{{cite journal |last1=WEXLER |first1=ANNA |date=2022 |title=Mapping the Landscape of Do-it-Yourself Medicine |journal=Citizen Science: Theory and Practice |volume=7 |issue=1 |article-number=38 |doi=10.5334/cstp.553 |issn=2057-4991 |pmc=9830450 |pmid=36632334 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Other people self-administer fecal transplant as a treatment for various diseases.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ekekezie |first1=Chiazotam |last2=Perler |first2=Bryce K. |last3=Wexler |first3=Anna |last4=Duff |first4=Catherine |last5=Lillis |first5=Christian John |last6=Kelly |first6=Colleen R. |date=April 2020 |title=Understanding the Scope of Do-It-Yourself Fecal Microbiota Transplant |journal=The American Journal of Gastroenterology |volume=115 |issue=4 |pages=603–607 |doi=10.14309/ajg.0000000000000499 |issn=0002-9270 |pmc=7359198 |pmid=31972620}}</ref>
==Physicians and medical students== In a survey of West Bengal, India undergraduate medical school students, 57% reported self-medicating. The type of drugs most frequently used for self-medication were antibiotics (31%), analgesics (23%), antipyretics (18%), antiulcerics (9%), cough suppressants (8%), multivitamins (6%), and anthelmintics (4%).<ref name='Banerjee 2012 '>{{cite journal | title = Self-medication practice among undergraduate medical students in a tertiary care medical college, West Bengal | journal = Journal of Postgraduate Medicine | date = April–June 2012 | first = I. | last = Banerjee |author2=T. Bhadury | volume = 58 | issue = 2 | pages = 127–131 | issn = 0972-2823 | pmid = 22718057 | doi = 10.4103/0022-3859.97175 | doi-access = free }}</ref>
Another study indicated that 53% of physicians in Karnataka, India reported self-administration of antibiotics.<ref name='Nalini 2010'>{{cite journal | title = Self-Medication among Allopathic medical Doctors in Karnataka, India | journal = British Journal of Medical Practitioners | year = 2010 | first = G. K. | last = Nalini | volume = 3 | issue = 2 | url = https://www.bjmp.org/content/self-medication-among-allopathic-medical-doctors-karnataka-india | access-date = 2012-09-02}}</ref>
==Children== A study of Luo children in western Kenya found that 19% reported engaging in self-treatment with either herbal or pharmaceutical medicine. Proportionally, boys were much more likely to self-medicate using conventional medicine than herbal medicine as compared with girls, a phenomenon which was theorized to be influenced by their relative earning potential.<ref name='Geissler 2000–06'>{{cite journal | title = Children and medicines: self-treatment of common illnesses among Luo school children in western Kenya | journal = Social Science & Medicine | date = June 2000 | first = P.W . | last = Geissler |author2=K. Nokes |author3=R. J. Prince |author4=R. Achieng Odhiambo |author5=J. Aagaard-Hansen |author6=J. H. Ouma | volume = 50 | issue = 12 | pages = 1771–1783 | doi = 10.1016/S0277-9536(99)00428-1 | pmid=10798331| hdl = 11295/80905 }}</ref>
==Regulation== {{main|Regulation of therapeutic goods}} Self-medication is highly regulated in much of the world and many classes of drugs are available for administration only upon prescription by licensed medical personnel. Safety, social order, commercialization, and religion have historically been among the prevailing factors that lead to such prohibition.
People trying to buy pharmaceutical drugs online without a prescription may be the victim of fraud, phishing, or receive counterfeit medication.<ref name="Lavorgna">{{cite journal |last1=Lavorgna |first1=Anita |date=March 2015 |title=The online trade in counterfeit pharmaceuticals: New criminal opportunities, trends and challenges |journal=European Journal of Criminology |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=226–241 |doi=10.1177/1477370814554722 |s2cid=145354387}}</ref> Selling prescription drugs to people without a valid prescription is illegal in many jurisdictions and can be considered an example of transnational organized crime.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hall |first1=Alexandra |last2=Koenraadt |first2=Rosa |last3=Antonopoulos |first3=Georgios A. |date=December 2017 |title=Illicit pharmaceutical networks in Europe: organising the illicit medicine market in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands |journal=Trends in Organized Crime |volume=20 |issue=3–4 |pages=296–315 |doi=10.1007/s12117-017-9304-9 |s2cid=255516752 |hdl-access=free |hdl=1874/362451}}</ref> In a 2021 article, Jack E. Fincham argues that unlicensed sales of prescription drugs online are a significant public health threat. It is also possible to obtain controlled substances such as amphetamine, benzodiazepines, and Z-drugs online without a prescription.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fincham |first1=Jack E. |date=March 2021 |title=Negative Consequences of the Widespread and Inappropriate Easy Access to Purchasing Prescription Medications on the Internet |journal=American Health & Drug Benefits |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=22–28 |issn=1942-2962 |pmc=8025924 |pmid=33841622}}</ref>
==See also== * Alcoholism * Biodiversity and drugs * Cognitive liberty * Coping * Dual diagnosis * Emotional eating * Psychedelic microdosing * Self-surgery * Self-diagnosis * Zoopharmacognosy
==References== {{Reflist|3}}
==Further reading== *{{cite journal | title = Concept of Self Medication: A Review | journal = International Journal of Pharmaceutical & Biological Archives | year = 2011 | first = Sonam | last = Jain |author2=Reetesh Malvi |author3=Jeetendra Kumar Purviya | volume = 2 | issue = 3 | pages = 831–836 | url = https://www.ijpba.info/ijpba/index.php/ijpba/article/download/274/193 | format = PDF }}
==External links== *[https://meshb.nlm.nih.gov/record/ui?ui=D012651 Self-medication] at Medical Subject Headings
{{drug use}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Pharmacy Category:Addiction Category:Substance-related disorders Category:Alcohol and health Category:Substance dependence Category:Mood disorders Category:Anxiety Category:Psychological stress Category:DIY medicine Category:Patient advocacy