Self Medication in Ghana

Do you trust chemists, pharmacists or should I say... behind the counter dispensers with no qualification in pharmacy or medicine to diagnose your illnesses and treat them without first seeing the doctor?

Many Ghanaians are found self-medicating at one point or another. Check an average Ghanaian's home and you will find Aspirin, Paracetamol, Efpak, Cough syrups, lozenges, Valium etc. However, is it really safe to have these because they have been advertised on TV?

Last week I saw an Alhaji something van with herbal medicines in my area of abode. The advertiser, using a megaphone claimed that a bottle of herbal bitters to cure Piles, Dysmennorhea (mentrual cramps), Infertility (in men and women), breast cancer, gonnorhea, candidiasis etc. Ebei! Talk about a multi-tasking drug.....

Now this multi-tasking medicine got me scared. I'm neither a doctor nor a pharmacist but, aren't these drugs supposed to have a varying range of active ingredients? What if some agents cause severe allergic reactions or have side effects? I remember a time when my Mom took her pills with Green Tea; it wasn't good. And that was Green Tea.

Did I mention those who buy and sell drugs on the troski? There was this one man who said that the pomade he was selling could make hair grow and also remove unwanted hair (to whom it applies scenario). Talk about marketing skills....

I know our health system isn't the best and poverty also influences the decision of the masses to go to the drug store when there is a problem but, is that a good enough justification for self medication?

Your thoughts on the issue are most welcomed.....

Why You Should Wash New Clothes Before Wearing Them...

I remember loving the smell of new clothes anytime my Mom came back from her travels and opened her suitcases to give us whatever she had purchased for us during her trips.  Knowing that they were new, we always slipped them on without washing them first; after all, they were new. If only I knew how wrong I was then.

I saw the light one day while I was shopping for a new set of clothes. As I looked through clothes in the boutique, I saw one sweaty lady try on a blouse and then take it off. Now, what I saw shocked me cus as soon as the lady left the shop, the sales attendant just put the garment back on the rack... Yeah I know, disgusting! That was when I decided that I would always try new garments with my own clothes on. Can you imagine the kind of bacteria that lady could have transferred onto that blouse that she didn't buy in the end? And that was a blouse... Imagine if it were a pair of trousers or jeans that get close to your intimate areas!

I decided to then see what experts say about this issue and you wouldn't believe what I found on Good Morning America. A team of experts conducted some research by buying "new clothes" from various stores and tested them for germs earlier this year and found very disturbing results.

They found representation of respiratory secretions, skin flora, and some fecal flora on one blouse, discovered evidence of feces, skin flora and respiratory secretions, especially in the armpit and "close to the buttocks," on another jacket.

Oh! and the biggest surprise, according to the scientists came when they tested a silk blouse. Could you believe that they found vaginal organisms, yeast and more fecal germs? Quoting what one scientist said when discussing the results, you may understand why you should wash your new clothes before wearing them.

"Some garments were grossly contaminated with many organisms … indicating that either many people tried it or ... someone tried it on with heavy contamination," he said. "In a sense, you are touching somebody's arm pit or groin. So you want to be protected that's all". Gosh! Imagine what it would be like if it were a bra... Ladies, please take a cue cus that's kinda gross if you ask me.

So, in order to protect yourself from these harmful bacteria, please wash your new clothes and underwear before wearing them. And if possible, wear clothes underneath while trying on new clothes and wash your hands after shopping as recommended by the experts.

Green Tea: Why I Can't Put My Mug Down.......

The first time I heard someone talk about Green Tea, I remember saying to myself "Why would I want to drink such a thing when I already have trouble drinking black tea?" Then, I heard Oprah recommending that we drink at least 2 cups of Green Tea daily. That's when yours truly decided to give it a try and... My Oh My.... after drinking my first cup, I realised that something was different... I started urinating more frequently and..... I lost a kilo in just two days..

So, I decided to do my own research on the benefits of drinking Green Tea and you wouldn't Believe what I found out.....

Apparently, Green Tea has antioxidants that:

• help prevent cancer
• Lowers "bad" cholesterol (known as LDL) and improves the ratio of "good" cholesterol (known as HDL).
• Stops the unnatural formation of blood clots that cause thrombosis (which is one of the major causes of strokes and heart attacks).
• Reduces high blood pressure by preventing action of  agents that cause constriction of the blood vessels causing high blood pressure.
• Lowers blood sugar which helps prevent and relieve TYPE-11 diabetes.
• Protects liver against toxins like alcohol and chemicals in cigarette smoke.
• Promotes oral health by suppressing the process of plaque formation and destroying the bacteria that forms plaque. It also destroys bacteria that causes bad breath, so if you don't want people moving away when you open your mouth, you know what to do...
• Destroy free radicals that cause aging.
• Possess antibacterial and antiviral properties. Recent studies show that green tea inhibits the spread of disease, speeds up recovery from cold and flu and, it also kills seven strains of food poisoning bacteria including clostridium, botulus and staphylococcus (which makes it a good treatment for diarrhoea).
• Helps your body to maintain healthy fluid balance and relieve fatigue and stress often caused by dehydration. ( That explains my frequent urination when I first drank it).
• Blocks main receptors that produce allergic reactions.
• Stimulates metabolism, calorie burning process and is wildly being used as an important part of a healthy diet.

So you see, with all these benefits, why would I want to settle for anything else.... There are various brands on the market with different flavors but i prefer the Lipton Green Tea in the Jasmine and Citrus variants...(which can be found at Shoprite).

Oprah recommended it, the Chinese recommended it... Now I'm recommending it.... Please try it and tell me what you think.....

Gotta go pour myself a hot mug of green tea....

Cheers....

Waste Management In Ghana... Only 30% Managed?

Source: Wanless.com

Now the first question I asked myself when I saw this article Ghana manages only 30 percent of her waste was- "What are the institutional bodies in charge of managing environmental issues doing about this?"

Then i remembered, these bodies have not been able to keep pace with the rapid accumulation of waste. They also concentrate more on disposal of waste rather than on management practices such as recycling. Also, some individuals who are unable to pay the fees charged by these companies but, on the other hand need to keep their homes clean and free of waste at all costs, resort to dumping their waste in inappropriate places. Others whose areas are not covered by these waste management companies also end up disposing their waste in like manner.

This has resulted in waste being found in gutters, drains, water bodies and on the streets and undeveloped pieces of land around the country. As one report by the Environmental Protection Agency stated, “municipal solid waste has been disposed of anywhere, anyhow, without regard to the nuisance and harm caused to the environment. All kinds of waste, regardless of their nature are being dumped indiscriminately into depressions, sand pits, old quarries, beaches, drains, and even in certain areas, along streets”. Pedestrians as well as motorists throw empty or sometimes, half-filled pure water sachets as well as food wrappers on the streets as they move about performing their daily activities. These are done with excuses such as, the unavailability of waste bins at those particular areas.

And with the case of sewage waste disposal, many people have resorted to easing themselves in open places as well as in black polythene bags and dumping them everywhere, often in gutters which end up getting choked. These gutters often leave a disgusting sight with its accompanying stench.

The accompanying consequences of such actions are more than obvious. Incidence of contagious diseases like Cholera and Tuberculosis have a field day preying on the lives of innocent people who probably played no role in degrading the environment. Not to mention, the environmental challenges- drains are choked, streets are heaped with refuse and emit unpleasant odour. In addition, the chocked drainage system has resulted, time and again, in flooding due to the inability of rain water to run its was long drains and smaller water bodies.

In the end however, it is up to us to, in our own small way, find ways to manage the waste we produce by ourselves...

Burn what can be burnt
Bury stuff that are organic so as to provide manure
Sort out plastics so that they are sent to their producers for recycling...

Now, is that so hard to do??

Food Joints In Ghana: We Beg, The Monosodium Is Too Much!!!

Ghanaians are known for enjoying spicy meals. Yes..... we love our pepper soups and stews hot. And though most people feel embarassed to admit it,  there is a special bond that most Ghanaians share when it gets to our natural momonis, kakos, among other natural herbs and spices.  Aren't we delighted when we visit one-stop stalls stocked with all our spices in the markets? Yes we are!!!

Then, why do many eating places in Ghana choose to kill us slowly by literally pouring Monosodium Glutamate(MSG) into everything they prepare- from beans and kontonmire stews to plain rice??? I mean, there are so many alternatives one can use in place of that deadly substance, so why MSG????

Yesterday afternoon, I decided to go for a plate of plain rice and kontonmire stew from a respected restaurant in town. After taking a spoonful of the meal, I began to have severe palpitations; I tend to have that reaction when there is too much MSG in any food substance I ingest. The food also tasted of a combination of momoni and MSG that had gone down disaster lane...

Now why would anyone want to add MSG to a dish that already has a natural flavor enhancer such as momoni in it? Can you tell me?

The most annoying part of it all is that MSG has no nutrients and does not really make food taste great but rather,send signals to the brain to make us believe that the food we are eating actually tastes good.

For more information please visit this link MSG dangers.

If you use a lot of MSG in the form of cubes and the powder, please minimize the intake and if possible, exclude it totally from your spices list.

Bisap a.k.a Sogbolo: Don't take this Highly Nutritious Drink For Granted!

Bisap, also known as Sogbolo in most parts of the country, is a very popular drink in Ghana. Sold mostly in plastic bags by women and children who roam about town screaming "sogbolo", this drink is usually drank cold.

However, most Ghanaians would rather drink a bottle of Coca Cola which contains no nutrients than take this highly nutritious drink because of the way it is packaged and sold. Maybe I should tell you guys what you are missing by not taking "Sogbolo"

From my research on  Bisap, my findings revealed the following:

1. 
   
   Bisap is rich in Vitamin C, which helps in the healing of wounds and also improves iron absorption from the gut. This in turn promotes red blood cell formation and prevents anaemia.
   
   
   
   
   
2. 
   
   It may have some anti-hypertensive properties. Hypertensive patients can also take it to control their blood pressure.
   
   
   
   
   
3. 
   
   Bisap is rich in antioxidants which help in neutralizing FREE RADICALS that are responsible for causing damage to our cells in the form of cancers.
   
   
   

So what are you waiting for? Bisap is far lower in calories than the Cokes, Fantas etc. Switch choices please..............

Oh!! And if you are worried about the source of water used in making this drink outside, then try making it at home. Its easy to prepare and the ingredients are more than affordable.

I hope you follow this recipe and enjoy the results of your decision.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups dried hibiscus flowers (bissap) . For those who do not know what the flowers look like, check the pix.

1/2 teaspoon vanilla, rum or any  flavoring of your choice

sugar to taste (probably 1 to 2 cups; or sugar substitute)

5 cups of boiling water

PROCEDURE

1. Bring the water to a boil. While it's heating, put the 2 cups of hibiscus flowers in a metal strainer in the sink and rinse them lightly with water to remove any sand or grit they might contain (the dried flowers bleed immediately, so make sure you keep the strainer in the sink).
2. Put the rinsed flowers into the pot of boiling water and it boil for 20-30 minutes.
3. Strain and let it sit for at least 4 hours.
4. Then make your sugar syrup and add the flavoring.
5. After both syrup and drink cool, mix and put in fridge to chill.
   
   And Voila!!! You are ready to savor this tasty delight.
   

Why I Worry About The Pure Water I Buy...........

(Google pix)

Two days ago, as my friend and I were chatting about our days back in school, one thing that got us laughing was the term "After you". Thanks to the previously popular Opanyin di Panyin ( Water bagged in transparent plastic bags), this term travelled far and wide. It was everywhere, particularly in schools. Those who couldn't buy their own bags could at least get some from a friend once they shouted "after you" before someone else did.

That was before the Pure Water craze began in early 2000. Now its absolutely everywhere. On every street and, at bus stations you will find either someone with an ice box, or a child with a basket on their head, stuffed with chilled bags of what is claimed to be purified water.

I quickly stopped the Opanyin di Panyin since I sometimes suspected that the water wasn't boiled and filtered before being bagged for sale. Here I was, so sure that this new bagged water could do no harm. After all, they were branded with a name, had the address of the producers and, even listed the mineral composition of the water. Oh! How naive could I have been?

The scales however, fell of my eyes and i saw how sickly twisted the minds of some Ghanaians who, would do anything for money, could be. By the way who introduced that poor imitation of the taste derived from water stored in the smoked earthenware pot? Not only does the water taste bad but, its like you can literally taste the smoke.. Aaargghh!

Some people do treat the water. True. But I can bet on my last cedi that the ones doing so wouldn't even constitute one percent of the total population of pure water producers. Some even go to the extent of putting the logo of the Ghana Standards Board on their bags when in actual fact, that water hasn't been tested at the labs of the Board. Isn't this something we should all be worried about?

Our lives are being endangered by quacks who bag any kind of water without the required filtering and purifying equipment. Maybe some of you should take a trip down the street behind Opeibea House. I hear we have a pure water and plantain chips production "company" there. Eiii! Da benn na ebe ye yei?

It wouldn't come as a surprise if i find out that my previous diarrhoeal attacks didn't occur from the beef sauce I've been consuming but rather, the so called pure water.

My dear friends, I leave you with this piece of advice. If you don't want to wonder whether the water you are drinking was bagged in a bath tub or near a gutter, please choose these brands for, we at least know their origins and, they haven't disappointed me, yet...........

1. 
   
   Ice Cool
   
   
   
2. 
   
   Voltic
   
   
   
3. 
   
   Aquasplash
   
   
   
4. 
   
   Bon Aqua
   
   
   
5. 
   
   Grafton
   
   
   
6. 
   
   Dasani
   
   
   
7. 
   
   Mobile Water
   
   
   

If they are any good ones that I've left out please feel free to include them...........