So, herbal concoctions aka AGBO, have an entire industry built around them. It is one of the most hotly debated topics in the history of medicine. There’s always this face off between Medical Doctors and “Agbo Doctors” 😁. It comes under many names:

1. Agbo Jedi-Jedi (recall our last topic?)
2. Opa Eyin
3. Burukutu
4. Baby Oku
5. Sepe
6. Monkey tail
7. Alomo and many many others

 

I need to mention “gbogbonise” right now. This typically “molue” sold drug supposedly cures EVERYTHING in the world. Seriously?? Why would anyone even buy that idea? I’m stomped 😑

 

Any Nigerian above the age of 30 years has most likely ingested agbo at some point or the other. There’s only one I ever found to NOT make me desire to use an iron sponge to scrub my buccal cavity.I wonder what they put in that one 🤔. Really won’t be surprised if there was a bit of alcohol in it. In retrospect, it might be. To all the alcohol lovers out there:

(By the way, I’m sure that I don’t need to go into a rant about how the alcohol containing concoctions are bad for your liver)

All drugs we use (white man’s medicine) are derived from nature. So, in essence, drugs are derived from these same elements. However, the difference between both is science. Studies and trials have been conducted to determine the appropriate combinations and dosages of these elements that would work optimally. In addition, science has helped identify and eliminate dangerous toxins and metals in these raw materials

 

Truly, you have very little idea of what has been included in those concoctions. I once saw a young boy, 16yrs old, who had acute kidney failure secondary to herbal concoctions. Just this weekend, I encountered another very bad case and when I took a history, I discovered that they’d been plying her with Agbo and had stopped other drugs. She fell into a coma from massive congestive heart failure. A needless complication! Others are liver damage, blood contamination, psychosis etc

To be fair, though, for centuries, it has worked frequently enough for it to become a contender. The efficacy/potency, however, is questionable. You may need to take a lot more to achieve the same effect that standard drugs have. Being “natural” does not automatically mean it is safe for ingestion.

 

Honestly on the other hand, I truly appreciate the upcoming modernized and well packaged forms of agbo now. I won’t mention specific names here but I’m sure you already know a good number of them. Our people have gotten more scientific which is encouraging.. Being a doctor, I’ve seen the overwhelming success of one product in particular. It inspired in me great respect for that particular brand. If you want more information, kindly leave your information in the comments section

Mothers, please please please, kindly stop giving agbo to your newborns! All they need is breast milk. This also includes the ones you use to bathe the baby. A word is enough for the wise. I’ve seen too many bad cases.

In summary, as stated above, while I cannot honestly say all herbal concoctions are bad (an example being the successful one I mentioned earler), I would rather defer to scientific based medication than take chances with concoctions whose origins and contents are dubious..

Better safe than sorry. I hope that we all would make the decision today to treat our bodies with a little more respect and ensure that whatever we ingest would actually do good to it. Remember our last post? You’ve got this life. Make the most of it.

Catch you later!

If you have any comments or contributions on today’s topic, be quick to comment or send me a mail at feedback@healthcare-ng.com I will be glad to read from you and answer all your questions.

Author: Dr. Lola Odubitan, MBBS