5 Disadvantages of Traditional Medicine are listed and explicated in this article and we hope you find it informative and helpful for your research.
Disadvantages of Traditional Medicine
Challenges of Herbal Medicine in Nigeria
In Nigeria, sick people use herbal medicine as an alternative to western medicines. Sometimes when the medical practitioners are at their wit’s end, they even direct their patients to turn to herbs for remedy.
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Herbal medicine is sometimes the only option for the poor population who are, as a matter of fact, the majority of the Nigerian populace. These people are constrained by finances and simply cannot afford to pay hospital bills or buy medicines.
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Since the herbs are readily available in their environs, they often do not have to pay to get them. It is only in rare situations that a token is paid to herbalists.
In case you are wondering if herbal medicine faces some challenges in Nigeria, then this article is for you. This is because more light will be shed on the challenges faced by this not-so-talked-about fraction of our health sector in Nigeria.
The following are 5 Disadvantages of Traditional Medicine:
1. Risk of Overdosage
Herbal medicine does not come in tablets and capsules which are rationed into active ingredients (medicinal content) and then fillers. During treatment with herbal medicines, patients are left to use the medication according to their discretion.
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If the herbalist said a cup should be taken daily, imagine the sizes of cups available, ranging from very small to very large. It is difficult to even take the right dosage; hence overdose might be inevitable.
2. Easily Contaminated
Western medicines are well packed in water-repellent packs or bottles. Oftentimes, the manufacturer indicates on the packs what temperature is appropriate to store the medicine and insists that they must be kept out of children’s reach.
This is not the case with herbal medicine. It is boiled in an earthen pot which may be mistakenly left uncovered and become home to microbes and other pathogens.
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3. Mostly Oral
Most herbal medicines are liquids that people have to swallow. In a few cases, they are rubbed on the affected area, such as in ringworm, eczema, and other skin diseases.
Western medicine has an injection option for a person who does not want oral medicine. These injections are believed to be fast-acting and more potent in curing the diseased person.
4. It Is Not Handy
When we are feeling unwell and still need to go to work, it is possible to slip our tablets into our bags, find a nearby eatery at our next dosage, and eat and swallow them.
This is not so with herbal medicines. It is not very easy to carry it about, especially in cases when it needs to be taken warm or such cases when it is the steam from the boiled concoction that needs to be inhaled.
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5. Sometimes Has an Awful Smell and Very Bitter Taste
No one expects medicines to smell like some expensive perfume or taste like candies (except it is a multi-vitamin syrup) but if you have had a herbal medicine say Neem Leaves extract, (commonly called dogoyaro), you will agree that the bitter taste is on another level and the smell is not any pleasant.
