On February 13, licensed pharmacist and content creator Arshie Larga shared his views about the dangers of self-diagnosing through internet searches.
At the launch of Bactidol’s TV Commercial and newest brand ambassador, which LionhearTV covered, Larga first acknowledged the trend of people self-diagnosing themselves, especially with access to online resources.
“Very timely ‘yung question lalo na ngayon na very accessible ang internet sa lahat ng tao. Lahat ng tao may maramdaman lang na simtomas, magta-type agad sa Google ganyan-ganyan. Kaya nga lang po may mga downsides sa ganyang bagay kasi it tends to be na nagse-self diagnose tayo na makita lang natin an ‘Ay ganito, may plema na ‘yung ubo ko. Parang ganito na pala ‘yung sintomas ko.'”
However, he cautioned that it may lead to a misdiagnosis and urged people to seek medical assistance through their doctors.
“In a way, hindi siya maganda kasi what if hindi naman pala ‘yun talaga ‘yung sakit mo o parang it’s just a symptom of another disease. Kaya naman po, importante na huwag tayong magse-self diagnose. And kapag may kinakailangan po tayong information or kinakailangan nating ma-diagnose ang sarili natin, let’s always ask for the professional help po of our health care professionals.”
He also recounted instances of misusing prescriptions during the pandemic.
“Lalo na noong pandemic, nagpapasahan ng reseta, nagpapasahan ng, ‘Mamshie, ito ‘yung nararamdaman ko sintomas, ito ‘yung nireseta ng doctor ko sa akin, baka ito na rin ‘yung pwede mong gamot.’ Tapos pupunta sila sa botika namin, sasabihin, ‘Sir, pwede po ba ako bumili nito.’ Makikita mo, tatanungin mo, ‘Kanino pong reseta ‘to.’ ‘Ay doon sa kaibigan ko ‘yan.'”
He sternly advised against using other people’s prescriptions to purchase medicine, citing how people have different body compositions.
“Paalala ko lang po sa inyo lahat, hindi po tayo dapat nagshe-share ng mga reseta natin sa ibang tao. Lalo na kung prescription medicine po. Kasi po, although pare-parehas tayong tao, ‘yung body composition natin at ‘yung mga sintomas na nararamdaman natin ay pwede pong iba-iba. Kaya sometimes, ‘yung mga gamot po na applicable kay Juliet, might not be applicable sa case ko.”
As for its latest campaign, Bactidol launched their newest Bactidol Cough Syrups with a TV commercial featuring the licensed pharmacist and content creator Arshie Larga.
The latest product from the brand has two new variants, addressing itchy cough and cough with phlegm. Ammonium chloride + Diphenhydramine HCl (Bactidol® Itchy Cough Relief) addresses itchy cough with its Fast Relief Formula that works in as fast as 15 minutes. While Guaifenesin + Bromhexine HCl (Bactidol® Heavy Phlegm Relief) has dual-action phlegm removal power that helps dissolve and helps expel phlegm.
