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Be careful how you use herbal medicine…Dr Anabah
Dr Thomas Winsum Anabah, distinguished Medical Practitioner in Critical Care, has cautioned Ghanaians to be careful about how they use herbal medicines to treat themselves because, some of these medicines could pose health hazards, including liver and kidney problems.
According to the research medical doctor, some herbal medications could cause serious complications to the health of an individual, which includes liver intoxication, kidney impairment, when not taken in the correct proportion and mode.
The Medical Director of Habbana Medical Centre in Tamale gave the hint in an interview with The Spectator in Accra last week.
He lamented that, the toxicity of the drug, dosage, frequency of administration in the production of herbal medicines could replicate a dangerous threat to the health of a patient signed on taking the particular drugs.
“In my practice as a Medical Doctor here in Ghana, I have treated so many patients who have had serious side effects from herbal medications, and when you ask them, you realise that the way the medicine was produced and given to them does not have any scientific backings and endorsement at all for human beings to take,” he fumed.
The international award winning medical doctor cautioned Ghanaians to be watchful about the dispensation of herbal medicines in order to take them in the right dosages.
This, he meant, was to make the public to only take herbal medications that have undergone scientific research and approved by certified authorities.
He appealed to patients to always look out for inscriptions on the labels of herbal drugs and ensure that, it must be packaged, bottled and licensed by the Food and Drugs Authority similarly to the ones we buy from China, Japan, America and India.
Dr Anabah advised the government to strengthen our herbal, or plant medicine departments in Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital and the Mampong Research Center to really come out with policy and support those dealing with herbal medicine to give us right prescription on how their drugs should be taken.
“I know there are some herbal medicine practitioners who have acquired license but there are a lot who do not conform to the guidelines of operations, hence government should regulate them very well and monitor their production very well and deal drastically with those who will not agree to have their drug tested before selling,” he stated.
This, he said, would help minimise the side effects, and all the negative consequences associated with the intake of herbal medicines.
According to Dr Anabah, government must open an avenue for all those dealing in herbal medicine to enlist themselves into groups in order for them to undergo some form of training and testing of their products.
“To me, I’m really very worried about the way herbal medicine is damaging people’s lives in Ghana, and I am not concluding that all herbal medicines are bad,” he emphasised.
According to him, there are a lot of quacks in the system, leading to increase of liver intoxication and kidney impairment in recent times mainly due to wrong herbal prescriptions.
“This aspect of medicine when regulated efficiently, could serve as a source of income and employment for a lot of Ghanaians,” he said.
Dr Anabah disclosed that people now go and bring anything boiled from the bush, and once they boil it and it’s dark, the darker it is, the more powerful they think it is, and that is how they determine its efficiency.
“I’ve seen people with wounds come to my facility because they have a small boil, and have gone to put soap concoctions there and got infected with bacteria, parasites and tetanus, and we nearly amputated the leg but we have salvaged a lot of them,” he indicated.
By Alfred Nii Arday Ankrah
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Swedru All Blacks back to winning ways, Roshan humble King Faisal
Sekondi Rospak FC made it eight wins in eight successive home games after three second-half goals from John Amoah, Joseph Ntow and Stephen Anthony Kofi. John Amoah opened the scoring in the 55th minute after a barren first half. Joseph Ntow added to the tally in the 56th minute before Stephen Anthony Kofi rounded things up in the 74th minute to give Rospak a 3-0 win over former Premier League side King Faisal.
Elsewhere at Swedru – leaders Swedru All Blacks humbled PAC Academy in an emphatic 2-0 win. Zayat Bubakari scored first for Swedru All Blacks in the 27th minute before Rudolf Junior Nana Kwasi Mensah made it 2-0 in the 34th minute. Swedru All Blacks are top of the table with 36 points – 4 points ahead of second placed Rospak FC.
Meanwhile, Former Premier League side Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs recorded their fourth successive home victory after beaten New Edubiase United 2-1 at the Robert Mensah Park. Enoch Odoom struck first for Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs in the 19th minute but Steven Asante equalized for New Edubiase United before halftime. After the interval, Godfred Eshun scored from distance in the 65th minute to help Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs secure all the points.
Here are the results in Zone Two
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Cervical Cancer alert: Avoid sex at early age
The Programmes Manager of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Mary Efua Commeh, has advised young girls to avoid sex at an early age.
This, she explained, will give the cervix the opportunity to mature before they become sexually active.
“You need to delay what we call the first sexual intercourse as much as possible to give the cervix the opportunity to mature before the person becomes sexually active,” she said.
Dr Commeh stated this in an interview with The Spectator in Accra on Tuesday as a part of the Cervical Cancer awareness month.
According to her, cervical cancer was the second leading female cancer in Ghana with a total of about 3,072 cases annually, and out of that, 1,815 deaths are recorded, representing more than 50 per cent.
She indicated that “If young girls are going to be sexually active, then you need to talk to your parents about being vaccinated.”
She explained that vaccinating young girls against human papillomavirus (HPV) has been found to be a very effective way of preventing cervical cancer.
“There are countries that started HPV vaccination years ago and they are not seeing any cervical cancers now because they would have eliminated most of the high-risk HPVs in their women. So if the high-risk HPV is not there, then obviously the results on cervical cancers are going to go down,” she added.
Dr Commmey said the HPV vaccination is recommended for young girls aged nine to 14 years, adding that it had been found to be highly effective, not just for cervical cancers but for other HPV-related cancers, such as anal cancers, cancers of the vagina, genital warts, amongst others.
She further elaborated that the idea is to put up a barrier before the HPV comes in and that once a young female encounters it, she is already protected.
She also mentioned that for cervical cancers, the main cause is called HPV infection, saying generally, all sexually active women acquire HPV at some point in their lives.
However, the Programmes Manager of NCDs at the GHS mentioned that the body has a way of clearing the HPV, explaining that it is a natural mechanism that goes on, unfortunately, there are a few women whose HPV persists.
Moreover, she noted that the numbers for Cervical Cancer tend to be much higher because at times, clients would wait, and try all sorts of medications before they finally report to the health facility saying “we actually lose some women before they get to the hospitals with over 75 per cent of the cases coming in its third and fourth stages.”
Dr Commey, therefore, called for public awareness while ensuring the availability of information for prevention and control.
By Jemima Esinam Kuatsinu
