Pharmacies In Abuja Record High Sales As Residents Shun Hospitals, Resort To Self-medication Over Coronavirus

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While Nigeria and the rest of the world continue to deal with the negative effects Coronavirus has left all around the place, pharmacies in Abuja appears to be benefitting from the situation in fact, SaharaReporters reports.

For instance, following recent cases of persons with the virus visiting several public and private hospitals without even knowing they had contracted the disease already in recent days and the fear it had created in the minds of members of the public, a growing number of Abuja residents are now beginning to shun any form of visits to health facilities just to avoid picking up the virus mistakenly.

As a result of this, many of the city’s residents have resorted to self-medication, allowing operators of pharmacies to smile to the bank.

Explaining why she decided to embrace self-medication, a woman named Stella told SaharaReporters that even doctors and nurses in most hospitals in the city are afraid to attend to patients because they don’t know, who may have the virus already.

She said, “I visited the hospital last week after having malaria symptoms but soon as I got there and explained my situation, a nurse on duty yelled at me not to move closer to her.

“She said it was Coronavirus symptom and that I shouldn’t come close to her because she didn’t have protective gear.

“I managed to find a laboratory to run a test and the result came out that it was indeed malaria. I simply approached a pharmacy for medication to treat myself.

“I have vowed not to go close to a hospital again for now. I will take care of myself my buying drugs from a pharmacy.”

A source at Nyanya General Hospital Abuja, who spoke with SaharaReporters, said some of the doctors there were now giving out telephone numbers to patients to call for treatment advice in order to limit physical contact and reduce the risk of contracting Coronavirus.

“Most of the doctors are not attending to patients physically again, they have given out their mobile numbers to patients because they are trying to avoid physical interaction with them.

“For now, only few people come to the hospital,” the source said.

A pharmacists, who spoke with our correspondent, also corroborated the situation in Abuja, revealing that there has been a significant increase in sales in recent days especially since the lockdown put in place by government.

“Business has been good. Though we are not happy about this disease but for us it has boosted our business.

“People have been coming to buy various medicines and other items like face mask, hand sanitisers and medicated soaps more than we have witnessed in the past. It has been a good time for those of us in this business,” one pharmacy operator in the city told our correspondent.

President of Nigerian Medical Association, Mr Francis Faduyile, told SaharaReporters that inadequate supply of Personal Protection Equipment was responsible for the decision of some doctors not to attend to patients physically.

He said, “We have on several occasions discussed that it is wrong for people to self medicate.

“We have doctors who are professionals who can investigate, diagnose and prescribe drugs to treat cases.

“If they are now resorting to e-consultations, it is good but it must be done in a way that patients will have the best treatment.”