QALA-I-NAW (Pajhwok): A number of residents of western Badghis province use home remedies and herbs to treat coronavirus, while doctors say self-medication and use of herbs for treatment of the disease is associated with risks.
In the past two years, coronavirus affected most countries, including Afghanistan, and has claimed millions of lives worldwide and the disease is yet to be controlled.
Some residents of Badghis province still ignores the virus and say they do not know anything about health guidelines about the disease.
A local Pajhwok correspondent in Badghis province, in a rural area of Qala-i-Naw, the capital of Badghis province, interviewed 55-year-old Gulsum, who has no information on how to prevent the disease.
“I was diagnosed with coronavirus last year, but I did not realize I was infected. I thought I had a sore throat, but a son-in-law told me that it was Covid-19. I did not go to the doctor and treated myself with home remedies,” she said.
About home remedy, she said, “After infection, my arms and legs ached, and I had a fever, no one told me to keep distance from others, and I used Penadol tablets for treatment, I was healed after I got vaccinated.”
She said that she never practiced any health guidelines and had not been informed about them.
Shamsuddin, a 27-year-old resident of Sarchashma village, 30 kilometers southwest of Qala-i-Naw, said he had coronavirus and used mint and other herbs for his treatment.
He said that no institution or individual had provided him with information on health guidelines for prevention of coronavirus.
“No one has told us anything to follow the health tips. I also used mint and other herbs for treatment, and now I am healthy,” he said.
Many coronavirus patients in remote areas use and believe in self-medication and herbs to cure themselves, but doctors say that arbitrary use of herbs and medicinal plants is not healthy.
Dr. Mohammad Yaqob Sina, a doctor in Qala-i-Naw, while stressing the observance of health guidelines, considers the arbitrary use of medicines and medicinal plants as harmful.
He said that the effectiveness of using traditional medicines has not yet been confirmed by any health institutions.
“To get rid of the coronavirus disease, we have to stay away from crowds, we need to strengthen our immune system and take vaccines so that we do not get this disease,” he said.
While Ms. Golsum and Ms. Shamsuddin claim that no one has informed them about prevention of the disease, Mulavi Mohammad Asif Qanet, Badghis public health director, says that they have launched public awareness programs about the disease in the province over the last few months.
He said that hundreds of religious scholars and tribal elders were informed by aid agencies in coordination with the Public Health Department about the coronavirus over the last three months.
He asked the people to follow health tips to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and go to health centers in the districts to get the coronavirus vaccine.
He said that they had a comprehensive plan for vaccination of all the people in the province.
mds/ma
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