Generally speaking, most consumers will rely on their physicians for all aspects of their wellness education. Starting as newborns, consumers are routed through predetermined intervals of doctors’ visits, well checks, immunizations, and also developmental milestone charting. Throughout the lifetime of the average consumer, what ails him or is taken care of by a trained medical professional who will prescribe medications and suggest periodic follow up visits. Unfortunately, this approach does not lend itself to the most rudimentary forms of health education. Every day occurrences, consider bloating and constipation, rarely if ever enter the conversation unless they are tied as a symptom to a specific illness.
Thus it is not surprising that so many consumers will choose to self medicate rather than seek professional help to understand their body’s functions. In some cases, a consumer will seek relief for completely normal bodily functions. Perhaps they are considered embarrassing, such as may be the case with gas, cosmetically displeasing, as is the case with hair growth in regions where there ought to be no hair according to the front page models, and other conditions. The store shelves are filled to brimming with product promising relief, treatments, and cures for conditions that frequently require neither. Even bodily changes associated with menopause have been taken out of the exam room and taken to the over the counter (OTC) aisle of the supermarket.
Self medicating has its risks, and pain killers are notorious for causing liver damage, some herbal remedies increase the risk for heart attacks, and many a sleep aid carries the risk of the dependency development. It is interesting to note that the news and media outlets are now becoming instrumental in promotion consumer health education. In some cases it is simply the fact that a major news outlet will run a press release showcasing an important fact, such as the American Pharmacists Association’s notice referencing that OTC drugs require patient education which is gladly offered by licensed pharmacists.
In other cases it is an expose on natural health products which may not contain the kinds of remedies associated with good health. Successful media campaigns in the form of breakthrough reports have warned away many a teen and young adult from the danger of herbal supplements promising to be the answer to steroid use! As a matter of fact, these media campaigns were instrumental in alerting the general public to the need to ban ephedrine and other substances that were made available via herbal supplements from a number of sources!
The next step for the news and media to continue their foray into consumer health education could quite possibly be the promotion of natural health. Giving listeners, readers, or viewers a proper understanding of what natural can and cannot do the media will provide the greatest public service possible: aid in the health education of the population and thus work hand in hand with physicians, natural healers, and pharmacists! Actively combating the misinformation commonly disseminated via the Internet and news sources which are less than reputable, the media may even be instrumental in preventing consumer deaths brought on by the unfortunate putting of trust in snake oil.