By Pauline Achieng’ Tom | @pauline_tom
Endometriosis is a painful disease that globally affects 10 per cent of women who are within the reproductive age, due to the limited capacity of health systems in the country, access to treatment which ranges from antiinflammation medication, steroids or even specialized surgery depending on the lesions are sub-optimal forcing most women to resort to traditional African medicine to deal with their symptoms.
According to Dr Odero Ong’ech Chief medical specialist in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Nairobi Reproductive Health services, due to the effects of endometriosis on the uterus, pelvic floor, ovaries and fallopian tubes patients may struggle with infertility if left untreated.
Endometriosis usually occurs when tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus, despite being classified as a chronic illness by the world health organization (WHO) most women and girls in Kenya suffer through endometriosis in silence with most cases going untreated.
Despite the positive results most women claim to have from the use of traditional medicine in their treatment, doctors warn of the dangers of traditional medicine.
“While there may be others that ‘work’ the traditional medicine market is crowded by quacks and scams and I would therefore not recommend it, it is important for women to seek treatment from qualified doctors and drugs that are backed by scientific research,” Dr Ong’ech said.
Despite its impact on the quality of life and its effect on productivity most Kenyans including health care providers do not recognize how abnormal pelvic pain during menstruation is, this has led to major delays in diagnosing endometriosis as well as stigmatization of individuals who experience them.
“It is important to note that endometriosis has no cure and is usually managed through palliative care and the medical and surgical options are meant to manage any potential complication resulted from the disease like pelvic pain and infertility.”
While in theory some herbs could be used in the treatment of endometriosis most of them may just offer temporary relief and not treating the disease itself, the consumption of anti-inflammatory foods like turmeric which has been also possessing the ability to inhibit endometrial growth and may help reduce future symptoms, still, it is important to be cautious of the herbs one takes in their treatment.
“Unless analyzed scientifically it is important to stick to physician-prescribed medication whose active ingredients are known and analyzed by scientists who understand the pathophysiology of endometriosis” Dr Ong’ech insisted.
“We understand how endometriosis works and what causes the pain and that medical treatment usually follows the basic principle of reducing inflammation, suppressing ovarian cycles and inhibiting the effect of estrogen it is therefore important to know what active ingredients are there in the medicine we take because people tend to react differently to different medication.”
According to WHO Africa, while it supports African traditional medicine recognizing the long history the continent has in using traditional medicine to provide care for its population, there is a need for a mechanism that will monitor and evaluate them through research on their safety and efficacy, there is need for more research including clinical trials to determine their safety and quality.
In 2001 WHO established a regional Expert Committee on traditional medicine in a bid to place a Regional mechanism for supporting countries to effectively monitor and evaluate progress made in the implementation of the traditional medicine strategy
