DIY medicine is a phenomenon where people self-diagnose and/or self-treat medical conditions without the guidance of a medical professional.[1][2][3]

Motivations

Sometimes DIY medicine occurs because patients disagree with a doctor's interpretation of their condition,[3] to access experimental therapies that are not available to the public,[1][4] or because of legal bans on healthcare, as in the case of some transgender people[5] or women seeking self-induced abortion.[6] Other reasons for relying on DIY medical care is to avoid health care prices in the United States[7] and anarchist beliefs.[8]

Medical devices

One area of DIY medicine is the creation of medical devices, such as PPE for protection against COVID-19[9] and epinephrine injectors.[8] Some people with insulin-dependent diabetes have created their own automated insulin delivery systems.[10][11] One review found that "the quality of glucose control achieved with DIY AID systems is impressively good".[12]

Pharmaceuticals

Another area is self-administered pharmaceutical drugs that are obtained without a prescription, as in the case of DIY transgender hormone therapy which is common among trans people.[13] 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.[14][15] 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.[16]

People trying to buy pharmaceutical drugs online without a prescription may be the victim of fraud, phishing, or receive counterfeit medication.[15] Selling prescription drugs to people without a valid prescription is illegal in many jurisdictions and can be considered an example of transnational organized crime.[17] 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.[18]

Self-managed abortion

Self-managed abortion with medication is safe and effective, but is illegal in some jurisdictions.[6][19] Before the current medication had been developed and in places where abortion is illegal, people may resort to unsafe methods of self-managed abortion.[20][21]

Other

With DIY brain stimulation, individuals with depression create their own devices to access an experimental treatment.[22][1] Other people self-administer fecal transplant as a treatment for various diseases.[23]

References

  1. 1 2 3 WEXLER, ANNA (2022). "Mapping the Landscape of Do-it-Yourself Medicine". Citizen Science : Theory and Practice. 7 (1): 38. doi:10.5334/cstp.553. ISSN 2057-4991. PMC 9830450. PMID 36632334.
  2. ↑ Demonaco, Harold; Oliveira, Pedro; Torrance, Andrew; von Hippel, Christiana; von Hippel, Eric (2020). "When patients become innovators". Managing Innovation in a Global and Digital World: Meeting Societal Challenges and Enhancing Competitiveness. Springer Fachmedien. pp. 121–129. ISBN 978-3-658-27241-8.
  3. 1 2 Fainzang, Sylvie (1 September 2013). "The Other Side of Medicalization: Self-Medicalization and Self-Medication" (PDF). Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry. 37 (3): 488–504. doi:10.1007/s11013-013-9330-2. PMID 23820755. S2CID 35393482.
  4. ↑ "This Drug Could Be the Next Ozempic. Bootlegs Are Already Selling Online". Wall Street Journal. 20 October 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  5. ↑ "Barriers to trans care lead some to embrace a do-it-yourself approach". NBC News. 5 July 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  6. 1 2 Verma, Nisha; Grossman, Daniel (2023). "Self-Managed Abortion in the United States". Current Obstetrics and Gynecology Reports. 12 (2): 70–75. doi:10.1007/s13669-023-00354-x. ISSN 2161-3303. PMC 9989574. PMID 37305376.
  7. ↑ "Can DIY Medicine Tame Rampaging Healthcare Costs?". The Rheumatologist. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  8. 1 2 Oberhaus, Daniel (26 July 2018). "Meet the Anarchists Making Their Own Medicine". Vice. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  9. ↑ Richterich, Annika (3 May 2020). "When open source design is vital: critical making of DIY healthcare equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic". Health Sociology Review. 29 (2): 158–167. doi:10.1080/14461242.2020.1784772. PMID 33411651.
  10. ↑ Burnside, Mercedes; Crocket, Hamish; Mayo, Michael; Pickering, John; Tappe, Adrian; de Bock, Martin (September 2020). "Do-It-Yourself Automated Insulin Delivery: A Leading Example of the Democratization of Medicine". Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology. 14 (5): 878–882. doi:10.1177/1932296819890623. PMC 7753855. PMID 31876179.
  11. ↑ Roberts, Joseph T.F.; Moore, Victoria; Quigley, Muireann (March 2021). "Prescribing unapproved medical devices? The case of DIY artificial pancreas systems". Medical Law International. 21 (1): 42–68. doi:10.1177/0968533221997510. PMC 8053740. PMID 33958837.
  12. ↑ Heinemann, Lutz; Lange, Karin (November 2020). ""Do It Yourself" (DIY)—Automated Insulin Delivery (AID) Systems: Current Status From a German Point of View". Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology. 14 (6): 1028–1034. doi:10.1177/1932296819889641. PMC 7645134. PMID 31875681.
  13. ↑ Edenfield, Avery C.; Holmes, Steve; Colton, Jared S. (3 July 2019). "Queering Tactical Technical Communication: DIY HRT". Technical Communication Quarterly. 28 (3): 177–191. doi:10.1080/10572252.2019.1607906. S2CID 151159278.
  14. ↑ Jannini, Emmanuele A.; Lenzi, Andrea; Isidori, Andrea; Fabbri, Andrea (September 2006). "COMMENTARY: Subclinical Erectile Dysfunction: Proposal for a Novel Taxonomic Category in Sexual Medicine". The Journal of Sexual Medicine. 3 (5): 787–794. doi:10.1111/j.1743-6109.2006.00287.x. PMID 16942523.
  15. 1 2 Lavorgna, Anita (March 2015). "The online trade in counterfeit pharmaceuticals: New criminal opportunities, trends and challenges". European Journal of Criminology. 12 (2): 226–241. doi:10.1177/1477370814554722. S2CID 145354387.
  16. ↑ "Viagra can be sold over the counter". 28 November 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  17. ↑ Hall, Alexandra; Koenraadt, Rosa; Antonopoulos, Georgios A. (December 2017). "Illicit pharmaceutical networks in Europe: organising the illicit medicine market in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands". Trends in Organized Crime. 20 (3–4): 296–315. doi:10.1007/s12117-017-9304-9. hdl:1874/362451. S2CID 255516752.
  18. ↑ Fincham, Jack E. (March 2021). "Negative Consequences of the Widespread and Inappropriate Easy Access to Purchasing Prescription Medications on the Internet". American Health & Drug Benefits. 14 (1): 22–28. ISSN 1942-2962. PMC 8025924. PMID 33841622.
  19. ↑ Moseson, Heidi; Bullard, Kimberley A.; Cisternas, Carolina; Grosso, Belén; Vera, Verónica; Gerdts, Caitlin (August 2020). "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". Contraception. 102 (2): 91–98. doi:10.1016/j.contraception.2020.04.015. PMID 32360817. S2CID 218490175.
  20. ↑ Berer, Marge (2020). "Reconceptualizing safe abortion and abortion services in the age of abortion pills: A discussion paper". Best Practice & Research Clinical Obstetrics & Gynaecology. 63: 45–55. doi:10.1016/j.bpobgyn.2019.07.012. PMID 31494046. S2CID 201156994.
  21. ↑ Jackson, Emily (2015). "DIY Abortion and Harm Reduction". Inspiring a Medico-Legal Revolution. Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781315588797. ISBN 978-1-315-58879-7.
  22. ↑ Wexler, Anna (1 March 2017). "Recurrent themes in the history of the home use of electrical stimulation: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and the medical battery (1870–1920)". Brain Stimulation. 10 (2): 187–195. doi:10.1016/j.brs.2016.11.081. ISSN 1935-861X. PMID 27965065. S2CID 21868698.
  23. ↑ Ekekezie, Chiazotam; Perler, Bryce K.; Wexler, Anna; Duff, Catherine; Lillis, Christian John; Kelly, Colleen R. (April 2020). "Understanding the Scope of Do-It-Yourself Fecal Microbiota Transplant". The American Journal of Gastroenterology. 115 (4): 603–607. doi:10.14309/ajg.0000000000000499. ISSN 0002-9270. PMC 7359198. PMID 31972620.
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