SEC-S16/W5/ "Ancient Medicine "

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Greetings my steemians from all over the world. I welcome you all to this week's challenge organised by healthy steem community, with an interesting topic "Ancient Medicine". I hope you all are in good health. I am good as well.

Medicinal plant has a great effect in human health and also has substances that are used for traditional therapeutic and modern drug production.

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I my country Nigeria, Akwa Ibom state precisely, several ancient medicinal plant are being used to perform and cure different sicknesses or ailments. I want to talk about the ancient medicinal plant called "Ginger Lilly".

Ginger lilly is a flowering plant that bears yellow, red, peach, and white flower. The stem, seed, leaves, and rhizomes are harvested from the wild plant and contain several bioactive metabolic reaction.

This plant, ginger lilly is otherwise known as bush cane. In Akwa Ibom language it is called mbritem, in igbo language it is called okpoto, in hause it is called kakizawa and tete-egun in Yoruba. This plant is commonly found in the forest zone of most places particularly in higher rainfall areas.

This plant is used to remedy cough, inflammation, arthritis, measles, diabetes and stomach disorder.

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In my honest opinion, and my research, there are some sickness or ailment that needs traditional medicinal treatment, and there are some that does not.

If someone has a sickness like "FIBROID", i believe in the modern operation (sugery) to take the fibroid out. I do not believe in the traditional medicine that is administered to shrink the fibroid and come out as though you are giving birth.

But in the case of a sickness called "PILE", i strongly believe in the traditional way of treatment. I am saying this with confidence because my mother use to treat people wit this sickness using this ginger lilly, lime and some leaves which she use to enter bush and plug them. She has refused to show me that particular leaf, that is why i cannot mention the name here.

The traditional medicine does not have side effects if you take it appropriately. But the modern drugs has side effects. Personally i do not take malaria drugs, if i try it, i will vomit for a whole day. I take the traditional herbs for my malaria treatment. In my humble opinion, i still prefer the traditional way of treatment.

There is also this sickness in children that are treated with traditional medicine. When a woman gives birth, and the child dies within seven days, that kind of woman is not suppose to carry another person's new born child if that child naval has not fallen off.

If she carries that child, the child will starts looking pale, the hands and legs will be strong and refuse to stretch, and no matter what the child eats, that child will never be healthy. This sickness is called "Ubok Akpa" in my dialet (i.e Hand of death).

If the mother doesn't notice it on time for treatment, unfortunately that child will die. In such cases, traditional medicine is the cure to this sickness.

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Different elements were used for the treatment of different sickness. I will list some of the elements that were used along with ginger lilly to treat sicknesses. They are;
Water, unripe pawpaw, bark of mango, lime, pinnaple and frog bones and mussels tissues extraction.

Among the Ibibio ethnic group in Akwa Ibom, ginger lilly (mbritem) leaves are attributed to be effective remedy for fever and malaria when boiled with pawpaw, lime and bark of mango.

The stem juice when extracted are used traditionally for the treatment of cough and sore throat, measles and malaria. It is also used to quench thirst.

A cold water extract of the stem is taken to treat epileptic attacks, is it applied to cure toothache, and also mixed with water to treat diarrhea and dysentery.

The leaves are used as food to treat goats with retained placenta. Once the eat the leaf, the placenta comes out.

Extract from the ginger lilly stem, lime, and bone and mussel tissues from frog are used for the treatment of pile.