One drug, cure all?

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Tips: I recommend you use pidgin for this post, and if you know this set of people I’m talking about, then talk as fast as they do. You’ll see😄

Photo by Sherry’s on Main on Flickr 

How often do the typical Nigerian get accosted on the road, especially the market, by herbal mixture sellers? These people that have the cure for everything, in just one bottle of drugs! For instance: Get your gbogbonise. E dey cure malaria, typhoid, cough, guinea worm, ring worm, worm wey be like say e dey dance for your body(whatever that means), staphylokoocus, diabetes, cancer, even spiritual headache and physical headache. E dey even cure hypertension, dey take care of jedijedi, or abi you or your baby dey always go toilet? Or na discharge u dey discharge as a lady(ehm,duh?) and d discharge Dey worry u, Abi nah watery sperm u get as a man? You get pain during mensturation (I mean helloooo?)?, or abi nah when you dey urinate? Or ur eyes dey always turnioniown? Madam, oga all you need nah just dis bottle o. E dey cure all invisible disease in ur bloodstream. In fact ehn all STD’s, HIV, even Corona dey trouble, dem no reach to come ur side at all at all. Just add a little of it in ur hot pap. U fit even take am with red oil, dat one dey  sweet. Or u fit boil hot water come put only 2 caps of d gbogbonise inside. HA! Well done o. You’re doing well o Gbogbonise. After you nah you!

Or is it the one they sell in public transport? And the sellers tell you how very popular their company is and “you must have heard of us right? Don’t worry if e no work just bring am come our branch we go give you the one wey go work 2 times better”.

While it is alright to take some of these herbal drugs, bear in mind that the major use is for health promotion, not for treatment for  sudden illness. The process is very slow, you’re not sure of the hygiene process, there’s high risk of allergy and  side effects which often takes long time to reveal.

Most reasons why people take these mixtures is that it is more affordable, and corresponds with what you think is wrong with you. But please, if you have symptoms of whatever, go to the doctor first. If you had unprotected sex tell your doctor, if you used a dirty toilet tell your doctor. Don’t just stay and whine yourself that your infection must be from the dirty toilet and not your unprotected sex. There are specific, affordable tests that can be done to isolate the bacteria and also determine the particular drugs that would fight and clear the bacteria, so don’t leave it at the mercy of herbal mixtures that might stop the discharge or the pain, or the smell, while the bacteria continues to accumulate in your body!