SEC-S16 / W5 | " Ancient Medicine"🌍👩⚕️

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Generally ancient medicine has been an important part of many culture's and traditions which provides remedies for various ailments. While some of these herbal remedies have shown effectiveness, these medicines also comes with different risks due to lack of proper investigation and dosage control.ln today's era,It is important to recognize the potential dangers of relying solely on ancient medicine and we should seek modern medical care when necessary.

Ancient medicine was use by our forefathers to save the life of individuals, families, communities and even the nation as a whole.ln my country, ancient medicine was mostly herbs from different plants. Some plants like maggo tree, sugar cane, monriga tree, pawpaw, lemon grass, soarsore tree and as many as.

Since there was no health facilities like hospitasl and registered medical practitioners, our forefathers used different available herbs root, stem to cure sickness and disease.

Growing up in rural area, the most common prevalence disease is malaria. So any slightest fever, cough, headache and body pains will be considered malaria. I remember my grandmother had different leave and stems she will cook for us anytime we felt such.

The frist one l can't forget in a hurry is cooking of lemon grass,soarsore leave, palm wine (the one that is about 2 to 3 days after tapping). She will add a desirable quantity of water to the combination and cook it for about 30 minutes.

She will turn it into tea cups for us to drink and after drinking, we Will be sweating so much and that is what makes them believe that the medicine is effective.

My self and pawpaw leaf

l also remember when our neighbor cooked unripe pawpaw and unripe pineapple for my anuty who had a prolonged labour for one week to drink and just some minutes after a taking, delivery took place.

If any body has measles, the fast local medicine was sugar cane juice. My grandmother will chew the sugar cane in her mouth and spite out the juice all over our body, at that same time the measles will go. I experienced this one by myself.

All of the above, herbal medicine where usually and specifically prepared by men and women who knows what works for each disease, since they belief in it, it works perfectly for them.

Hospital is too far

Personally My honest opinion about ancient medicine is that it was very simply, accessible, readily available and mostly affordable. Yes, accident medicine works wonders because they believe in it.
ln some cases, l have witnessed a situation where by traditional remedies provide relief for some certian ailments.

l only used very few during emergency. But currently, as a medical practitioner, l prefer going to hospital, carryout different medical investigation and took prescriped medication.

My reason being that some traditional remedies thier machanism of action was unknown, the quantity or dosage was not sure, they believe in trial and errors, some of thier preventive measures are irreversible and sometimes users may turned hurt and in most cases it lead to loss of life.

Dear friend we are in the 21st century and digital era, what works best for our forefathers might be functional in our life. As for me, l believe it was thier faith and intuition the Make it works for them.

Lemon grass

ln most cases, the elements was not only one but it comes in combination of different plant.

• Lemon grass:

Lemon grass is one of the leaf use in treating malaria and typhoid, as it is believed. They will cut the leaves, wash it properly, add water and boil it. After thier estimated minutes they will bring it down, allow it to cool a bit and drink they water. They always keep it and rewarm it and continue taking it for number of days.

• Ginger and garlic:

These we commonly use for weight loss, food poisoning, infection, digestion, decrease libido and sore throat.

• Alum:

This was use for toothache, lf you have dental issue, they will put alum inside water and tell you to garcle it with warm water but you should not swallow. l imagine that risk of garcling what is none edible in you mouth without swallowing even a bit.

• Unripe Pawpaw seed and leaf.

The above was used for the treatment of prolonged labour, indigestion, constipation, cough and cattarh.
They also use pawpaw leaf in treating cancer and malaria.

Bitterleaf

This was often used in the treatment of high blood pressure, stomach ache, low blood count and so on and so forth.

Pawpaw leaf.

My grandmother has been handling these traditional remedies.One day my cousin and my siblings went to our nearest big stream to fetch water and as they reached, my immediate younger sister started playing on sand near the stream. As she was running, she tripped and fell into the stream, she could not swim and suddenly began to sink gradually deep down into the stream

Fortunate for her, my eldest and my cousin was nearby, seeing the wholesale incident from the start, they jumped into the stream and pulled her up but was unconscious and was very cool.

My eldest cousin rushed her home to my grandmother. Seeing her granddaughter unconscious, she said that she need anything warm. She robbed her Aboniki balm all over her body and cloth her with big blanket. At a point she set a fire and sat her close to it.At a point, she woke up, she prepared for her to eat hot pepper soup rice...I was like saying,, "why not me"😀. Anyway, we were all greatful that my sister recovered and started playing as normal.

Becoming an adult, l learnt that it is one of the best home way to treat pneumonia and in medical terminology, lt is called kangaroo's mother care.

In all, ancient medication was good for them because there was no science and technology as at then, they depended into-to in herbs. They used herbs to save many lifes but our era is blessed with different technology that save life more than before.

I would like to invite @dove11 ,@yancar ,@pandora2010 and @eliany to participate.