Amarachi Okeh
Many Nigerians use herbal medications — a key component of traditional medicines that the World Health Organisation says 80 per cent of the population in developing countries depends on for their primary health care needs. A major contentious issue with some herbal medicines, however, is their bogus claims that they can be used to treat multiple illnesses. Reportr Door Healthwise investigates why Nigerians patronise these herbal medicines despite their bogus claims and safety concerns. AMARACHI OKEH reports
In the last five months, Mr. John Chukwuma has gulped five bottles of a herbal drink. He said he was taking it for leg and neck pain. He was at his vendor’s shop to buy two more bottles when our correspondent caught up with him.
According to Mr. Chukwuma, who disclosed that he is in his 40s, he had been suffering from chronic pains in his neck and arthritis in his legs, noting that he is quite frustrated with no solution yet to the pains he was having.
He said he decided to turn to traditional medicine after the drug prescribed to him at the hospital did not give him the respite he craves.
However, at the traditional medicine store, he said he was told that one herbal medicine would help cure arthritis in his legs and the back pain he was having.
But after taking five bottles of the herbal medicine within five months starting from August, Mr. Chukwuma says he is yet to get any form of relief from the pain he feels in his neck. He though conceded that he has seen a little improvement in the pain in his legs.
Speaking with our correspondent he said, “I have bought more than five bottles of the herbal mixtures since I started using them in August but I am yet to see an improvement in my neck but I have seen some in my leg, let’s say about 30 percent improvement.
“I have pain in my neck as well as arthritis pains in my legs. They gave me a herbal drink that they said will treat the two conditions but so far, I haven’t noticed any difference in my neck, it is still the same but my legs have improved so I am here now to ask for a herb that would work for my neck,” he said.
When asked if he was not worried about the safety of the herbal medicine that can purportedly treat many illnesses at the same time, Mr. Chukwuma said it is normal for herbs to do that, adding that he was not worried.
On how he got to know about the herbal medicine he is buying, he said, it is not difficult to find sellers of such herbal medications as they are always available in crowded places like motor parks in Lagos, adding that they advertise their products with loudspeakers mounted outside their shops to let people know what they can do.
WHO’s position on herbal medication
According to the World Health Organisation, herbal medicine includes herbs, herbal materials, herbal preparations, and finished herbal products, that contain active ingredients parts of plants, or other plant materials, or combinations. These herbs are derived from plant parts such as leaves, stems, flowers, roots, and seeds
The use of herbal remedies, WHO said, has become quite popular in recent times with it being the first point of treatment for most persons before they think of orthodox medications.
Findings have, however, revealed that in many instances, some people using herbal medications only head to hospitals when the illness they are treating has become chronic and unmanageable.
Yet, WHO says traditional medicine which herbal medicine is a major component of is still the primary care system that about 80 per cent of the world’s population, especially in developing countries depends on.
Warning from health experts
Nevertheless, health experts say Nigerians should be wary of some of these packaged herbal medicines, especially those claiming to be a cure for several illnesses.
According to a public health physician, Prof. Tanimola Akande, it is highly unlikely that one drug can cure varied diseases, noting that the claim that one herbal drug can cure a combination of diseases is questionable.
One herbal drug cures six diseases
A visit by our correspondent to one herbal medicine outlet in the Berger area of Lagos further confirmed that sellers of these herbal medicines regularly sell medications that they claim can cure multiple illnesses.
Our correspondent after complaining of menstrual pain and lower back pain was told by the seller to buy a herbal mixture named ‘Female Corrective Fertility Plus’.
The seller, a young lady in her early 20s named Millicent prescribed this herbal medication without running any diagnosis. She claimed the medication will ensure regular menstruation without pain, cure back pain and also help solve problems of infertility.
The herbal medication, as seen by our correspondent had on it a NAFDAC number. It, however, also has a disclaimer that the medication has not been tested for verification of its claims.
According to the vendor, the herbal drink will not only cure irregular menstrual flow but, will also treat any bacterial and vaginal issues that our correspondent may have.
The medication, the young lady said, should be taken first thing in the morning and last thing at night taking only ¼ of a plastic cup without indicating the size of the cup.
According to the description on the body of the pack of the medicine, ‘Female Corrective Fertility Plus’, the herbal drug can cure more than six female gynaecological issues.
The pack listed that the medication is used for the ‘treatment and cure of irregular menstruation, painful menstruation, fibroid, blockage of the fallopian tube, hotness in the womb, infertility in women such as miscarriage, constant bleeding, lack of ovulation, breast discharge, hormonal imbalance, vaginal discharge, and candidiasis.’
However, speaking with Reportr Door HealthWise, a former president of the Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics of Nigeria, Prof. Oluwarotimi Akinola said there are certain issues of concern with any one herbal drug that claims to cure several diseases.
Citing the herbal mixture prescribed to our correspondent, he stated that each of the listed diseases has different causes and modes of treatment hence, one drug cannot treat them.
He said, “If you say the fallopian tube is blocked, it means that it is either twisted or something has blocked it. That kind of blockage, is either you cut it off and re-join it but how can a drug that would dissolve that one be the same drug that will treat fibroid?
“The causes of fibroids are various and the treatment options are many. So, how can a drug that will treat that also treat irregular menstruation?” he asked.
The gynaecologist stated that he doesn’t believe that there can be any one herbal drug that can cure a myriad of diseases.
Prof Akinola also explained that some of the herbal medicines have toxins that could cause health complications.
He explained that orthodox medicine called digoxin and others were obtained from the extract of plants but added that they have been purified and the toxic elements that can be detrimental to health in them removed.
Continuing, he stressed that “most drugs are obtained from plants but they have been refined to identify the active ingredients in those drugs,” after they have been studied and analysed.
“Common sense and pharmacology suggest that medications that would be taken by humans are first analysed to know the active ingredient, harmful ingredients, appropriate dosage, and then the side effect, but this is lacking in most herbal medications, hence making them unsafe for humans.
“The plant called Dogon Yaro is popularly known to treat malaria but after using it for a while people developed liver cirrhosis, liver failure, and liver damage from it.
“So, if you don’t go and find out what is dangerous and what is not dangerous in a plant and extract it, then it is risky. That is what our people refuse to understand.”
He stated that doctors would prescribe only orthodox medicines because “the drugs have been researched and the dangerous toxins have been removed with the drug packed in appropriate and proper dosage.”
Also speaking with Reportr Door HealthWise, a professor of public health, Emmanuel Aguwa explained that while many drugs are derived from herbs, they have been scientifically proven and hence safe.
The professor of community medicine at the University of Nigeria noted that the inability of many herbal drugs to have proper measurement is a major problem aside from the fact that many of them have not been appropriately studied, tested, and analysed to ensure the toxins in them are removed.
Reportr Door HealthWise reached out to Mr. Sayo Akintola, the Media and Communication Consultant to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control NAFDAC to know what the agency was doing to help curb the sales of herbal medicines claiming to be a cure for multiple illnesses, but couldn’t get him on phone.
He, however, responded to a message sent to his phone by promising to get back to our correspondent but has not done so as of the time of filling this report.
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