ASHNEWS reports that healthcare experts are stressing the significance of merging conventional medical treatments with alternative therapies to achieve more effective health outcomes.
This push for integration arises from a heightened acknowledgement of the advantages that both orthodox and alternative medicine provide to individuals seeking treatment.
“I recommend alternative medicine that is purified and standardized where it will help my patients, I also complement traditional treatments to address aspects of health conventional medicine cannot solve,” says a renowned general medical practitioner, a founder of Rijiya Specialist Clinic, Sokoto, Dr. Ikechukwu Ofia, In an interview with ASHENEWS
Yet, Dr. Ofia cautioned against relying on medicines formulated solely on intuition. “People should stay away from any other form of medicine that is produced based on intuition without any trace of systematic approach.”
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In the same vein, Secretary general, Nigerian traditional medicine exhibitors, Mr Ahmed Ayodele, said there are cases that traditional medicine will not be of help. “By integrating orthodox approaches, we can optimize patient outcomes and promote overall well-being.”
In response to inquiries from ASHENEWS regarding the significance of integrating both medical practices, Dr. Umar Abubakar Nasarawa, a traditional medicine expert in Sokoto, shared an incident illustrating the benefits of such an approach.
Dr. Nasarawa recounted an experience where, following thorough testing and treatment by a psychiatrist, patients with spiritual-related issues were referred to him. “It seems they now understand that issues related to spirits cannot always be solved in a laboratory,” he remarked.
“After diagnosing these patients using our traditional methods, we administered a combination of traditional medicine alongside orthodox practices and recited supplications from the Quran. As a result, the spiritual afflictions disappeared,” Dr. Nasarawa explained.
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Meanwhile, a patient, Maijidda Ibrahim, expressed her perspective on the amalgamation of orthodox and alternative medicine.
“As a matter of fact, I patronize both based on the type of my condition and with the economic hardship one has no option than taking the easy way out,” she noted.
