Stop taking unorthodox medicines, Unilorin don warns Nigerians

A Professor of Medicine at the University of Ilorin, Philip Manma Kolo, has advised Nigerians who have cultivated the habit of taking unorthodox medicines to stop doing so in the interest of their health.

Delivering the 236th inaugural lecture of the University of Ilorin, titled “Power And The Failed Pump: Travails And Remedies for Broken Hearts,” Professor Kolo said that it was wrong and harmful for patients to abandon drugs prescribed by certified medical practitioners for unorthodox ones for whatever reasons.

Kolo, who is the Galadima Magani of Tsaragi in the Edu Local Government Area of Kwara State, said that the piece of advice is even more important to and should be taken religiously by patients with hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases for them to live well.

The don, who vehemently discouraged the use of unprescribed drugs, was particularly emphatic on drugs like Tiansi and GNLD as well as bitter kola and snail waters that some patients often take instead of orthodox ones produced in hygienic conditions and confirmed to be good for human consumption by relevant health authorities.

The renowned medical scholar, who is also a former Head of the Department of Medicine, University of Ilorin, also implored the government to enact legislation that would allow individuals to donate their organs to patients in need.

He added that doing so would help in advancing the course of medicine, particularly when the intending donors are involved in conditions causing brain death.

Professor Kolo also urged concerned authorities to declare systemic hypertension, obesity, diabetes mellitus, and other non-communicable diseases as public health emergencies, as he also called for efforts to be directed at community education on diet and lifestyle choices.

He added that patients with cardiovascular diseases should particularly stay away from cigarette smoking and ethanol abuse, which increase the risk of the breakdown of their health conditions.

The inaugural lecturer also enjoined members of the public to take pre-hypertension and mid-elevation in blood pressure seriously. He added that the two conditions should not be ignored but treated properly after an individual’s risks have been fully assessed.

He encouraged health professionals always to give special consideration to the offspring of hypertensive parents.

He added that such individuals should be considered a special group that needs early assessment, hypertension screenings, and monitoring for future cardiovascular events.

The foremost health educator, who is also an Associate Editor of the Nigerian Postgraduate Medical Journal, appealed to the government at all levels to consider the possibility of establishing heart health institutions in all the six geopolitical zones of the country.

Professor Kolo canvassed the need for the establishment of cardiac catheterisation laboratories in major teaching hospitals in the country to address the prevalence of cardiac diseases.

He also urged the government to provide defibrillators in public places to address cases of patients with cardiac arrests outside the hospital, saying that the facility is essential.

Professor Kolo similarly canvassed improved manpower training and retraining to provide expertise in the field of cardiovascular medicines and cardiothoracic surgery to meet the increasing needs for the services.

To help the designated professionals, Professor Kolo also enjoined concerned authorities to also provide regular training for all hospital staff of other institutions to be able to offer first aid to patients with cardiac arrest.

He also urged people to always offer psychological support to families, especially those who have had recent losses such as loss of close relations, businesses, and domestic violence.