There is a very dangerous practice that has gone on
for so long among mothers mostly in the rural areas and alternative medicine
practitioners; abdominal scarification as a treatment for enlarged spleen. It
appears a very hot substance is pressed on the stomach to 'melt' whatever they
believe is responsible for the enlarged spleen. The cause of the enlarged
spleen is often believed to be a disease of its own caused by accumulation of
bad blood, worms or maybe evil spirit. This practice seems more common in the
Southern parts of Nigeria. The Igbos call it "apa afo", "obara
afo" and any such name depending on the part of Igbo land one is from.
Sometimes they perform incisions on that part of the skin covering the palpable
spleen, probably to make the bad blood bleed out. Take a look at many kids below 10 and living
in rural areas in the aforementioned region of Nigeria and you would likely
observe this in more than 50% of them. It's heartbreaking to say the least that
little kids are made to go through such treatment.
Enlargement of the spleen has several causes,
available research suggests the most prevalent cause in Nigeria is malaria. The
World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
also reported high incidences of splenic enlargement in places where malaria is
endemic. The safest place to diagnose the cause of
your child's splenic enlargement is in a hospital. Let a doctor,
preferably a paediatrician do the diagnosis and prescribe the right course of
treatment. Some of the mothers who let their children go through this believe
there is no treatment for it in orthodox medicine, while most of them do it out
of ignorance and helplessness.
Scarification poses serious threats to a child's
survival. The child's abdomen gets scalded and could get infected or some other
complication may arise. The instruments used to perform the incisions could
also harbour some deadly disease-causing microorganisms. So many things could
go wrong, yet it's not solving the problem.
A lot really needs to be done as regards awareness and
enlightenment of mothers, most especially those in the rural areas. We cannot
continue to watch while children are left with scars in a treatment course that
achieves little or nothing at all. With the proliferation of internet users, I
hope this piece gets to someone who would help enlighten another on how wrong
and inhuman abdominal scarification is. I believe these kids scream out in pain
when this totally unnecessary treatment course is being done.
So many things are done wrongly. So many things we do
contribute to the alarmingly high mortality rates in our country. We need to
join hands and drive ignorance away; this ignorance that puts lives at risk. We
need to say no abdominal scarification and all child scarifications in general.
We need to put a stop to traditions and treatment courses that put lives at
risk and achieve little or absolutely nothing.
Let us all join hands to stop harmful traditions.
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ABDOMINAL TENDERNESS
left side stomach pain
What's the most preferred treatment for Ama afo
ReplyDeleteNever heard of this before now! We learn everyday
ReplyDeletePls what do they call ehiafo in English?
ReplyDeleteI have not heard the word "ehiafo" before, but it sounds like what is called "enlargement of the spleen" in English
DeleteWhat is the preferred treatment?
ReplyDeleteTake the child to a medical doctor, preferably a pediatrician for proper diagnosis and treatment
DeleteUseful information. Thanks.
ReplyDeletePls. This enlargement of the spleen. What are the related symptoms and treatment associated to it? Thanks
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot for this nice information
ReplyDeleteWhat other symptoms comes with this enlarged spleen?
ReplyDeleteThe name of medicine that can cure it please tell us
ReplyDeleteWhat is the name of medicine that can cure the illness
ReplyDelete