Traditional and Herbal Medicine: Methods and Techniques Flashcards
Dr. Ajayi
Differentiate between the basic concept of orthodox medicine and traditional medicine.
Orthodox medicine is based on the results of experiments and pathophysiological agents are the origin of diseases.
Traditional medicine, however, believes that man is an integral somatic and extra-material entity, and that diseases can be due to supernatural causes arising from displeasing the gods, witchcraft, possesssion etc.
Traditional medicine places more emphasis on the psychological causes of diseases than orthodox medicine.
Traditional medicine is often part of the culture and linked to the beliefs of the people that use it. Some of these beliefs include:
- The existence of one mighty God and lesser gods who assist.
- The intuitive and largely non-analytical mode of cognition and perception of the universe.
- The perpetual existence of life in disctinct cycles
- Belief in unseens powers, spirits, ancestors etc.
- Belief in myths, taboos and totems
- The belief that we are innocent at birth (This contrasts with Christianity or Judaism, which believes we are conceived and born in sin)
- The importance of group life and kinship
What are the five categories of aetiology or disease causation in African traditional medicine?
- Physical ailments: Injurious elements entering the body through food, drinks and skin etc
- Psychological cause: Diseases caused when the will of man is not in harmony with the laws of nature. A diseased body is often said to be affected by a diseased mind.
- Astral influences: This refers to the negative influence that radiations from cosmic agents e.g., sun, moon and planets may have on people
- Spiritual causes: Spiritually caused diseases are a result of evil thoughts, evil desires and machination by enemies, including soul projection or evil telepathic messages
- Esoteric causes: Refers to diseases originating from the soul or deeds of an individual in his previous life.
Differentiate between signs and symptoms in orthodox and traditional medicine.
In orthodox medicine, a patient describes his symptoms to the doctor. This also happems in TM, but in many cases, the patient says very little to the traditional practitioner. It his job to diagnose the disease by various means of divination.
While, in orthodox medicine, the doctor uses a stethoscope and other medical devices to examine the patient, in TM, the practitioner uses his experience and observes the patient for any gross abnormality, such as in posture or breathing.
Pathological investigations are absent in TM because of the lack of training, knowledge and facilities for carrying out tests.
True or False.
True.
What are the aspects of diagnosis in TM?
i. Anamnesia: This refers to the recollection of the patient’s previous medical history, often with reference to his family background or social setting.
ii. Patient observation: This involves observing the patient’s behavior, attitude, and gestures, particularly in cases of mental health. This observation can extend to the patient’s family to determine if it could be a family trait.
iii. Visual examination: The eyes, skin, urine and faeces etc., are observed to determine the ailment e.g yellow skin and eyes in jaundice.
iv. Clinical examination: Summary of appearance, inspection of movable parts, palpation etc., are involved in diagnosis. Pulse examination has reached a high degree of perfection in Ayuverdic and Tibetian medicine, which have established a correlation between pulse and humoural imbalance.
v. Biological examination: Involves the use of sensory organs to carry out biological examinations. E.g., tasting urine for sugar in diabetics (taste), smelling sores for putrefaction (small) and observing the colour of vomit (sight). Ants are also use to diagnose diabetes.
vi. Divination: The oracle is consulted, especially if the case is suspected to be due to supernatural causes. They use various objects, such as seeds, bones and cowries. They are sometmes tied together or free kolanuts are split into cotyledons and thrown in an artistic fashion.
vii.Other methods include the uses of mind-altering drugs to enable the patient to talk freely, and astrological signs
Discuss 10 methods of treatment in TM.
i. Traditional medicine preparations: This involved the internal or external application of plant materials (e.g., leaves, barks, latex, resin, etc. either alone or as a mixture), animal materials (whole or part of e.g chameleon, snail and snake), mineral substances (e.g alum, kaolin and rock salt), in various forms such as liquid, solid, semisolid and gaseous)
ii. Therapeutic fasting and dieting: Spiritualists and Ayuverdic practitioners may prescribe a fast lasting 1-3 days. Certain types of diet may also be forbidden e.g., No slimy food, such as okar soup made from the fruit of Hibiscus esculentus L. after some surgical operations, such as circumcision.
Ayuverdic practictioners may also recommend certain diets such as whey water, boiled rice and coconut water for rehydration. Pineapple juice, pomegranate juice and other fruit juices with astringent properties may also be recommended.
iii. Hydrotherapy: Cold or Hot water or vapour, with or without other drugs, may be used for treatment. Eg., cold bath to invigorate weak patients and hot baths for fevers. A towel deeped in hot water and squeezed is used for sores, sprains, inflammation, mothers recovering from childbirth and on the navel of babies after the detachement of the umbilical cord. Inhalation of steam for catarrh, sauna, sitz bath…
iv. Heat therapy: Likened to infra-red massage in modern therapy, radiant heat from a coal fire or heat from burning firewood with powdered aromatic herbs or animal materials are used to teat certain ailments. In Tibetian medicine, cauterisation is used to treat certain mental disorders
v. Bone setting: In the case of of broken bone, such as in the leg, the bone is realigned with the patient lying down. Herbal dressing s are placed on the fracture before sticks are tied around the leg with a string. When swelling occurs, they are treated with hot fomentation. A decoction of Cissus quadrangularis L. may also be taken 3 times daily and used to bathe the affceted area.
vi. Massage: Said to be common among the Ijaw people of Nigeria, it involves the application of gentle but firm pressure to various aching muscles, to which aromatic oily dressings have been applied.
vii. Psycotherapy: TM practitioners deal with mentally disturbed patients. Violent one are usually chained to a big wooden block or made to wear shackles. The patient is given sedative decoctions, often including roots of Rauwolfia L. species regularly and carries out ritual dances.
viii. Surgery: Simple instruments, such as knives, arrow heads needles and sharp palm fronds are used to perform traditional surgeries, such as male and female circumcision, tribal marks, piercing of earlobes, trepanation, abdominal surgery dental extractions and cutting the umbilical cord of new borns.
ix. Obstetrics and Gynecology
x. Spinal manipulation
xi. Treatment of burns
Mention 2 herbal preparations used for pregnancy and delivery.
i. Root of male Carica papaya L. chewed with 7 seeds of Aframomum melegueta K. Schum. (Melegueta pepper) during labour to cause immediate delivery of the baby
ii. Bark of Blighia sapida Koenig, ground and mixed with black soap for bathing throughout pregnancy to ensure easy labour.
Mention 5 examples of preventive TM.
- Simple hygeine, such as cleaning the surrounding of one’s home evry morning.
- Regular sacrifices as a preventive measure against the wrath of the gods, which is beleived to lead to periodic epidemics
- Wearing medicated rings, amulets, waist bands or necklaces as talismans
- Medicine applied into incisions on the skin to protect against witchcraft
- Daily incantations or juju to prevent motor accidents or death from motor accidents
