COVID-19: Gombe commissioner warns against use of herbs, self-medication

The Gombe state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Ahmed Gana has warned residents against the use of herbal medicines and self- medication against the coronavirus, but instead adhere strictly to all precautionary measures.

Gana, in an interview on Friday in Gombe, said that using herbal or traditional medicines would not treat or cure coronavirus.

He said as a medical doctor and professional in the health sector, “we don’t speculate and we don’t advise the use of things that are un-orthodox or not evidence-based.

“Medicine is evidence-based and absolutely there is no relationship between lemon and COVID-19 as far as the signs of the virus are concerned.

“Whatever must be recommended as a cure for any treatment or prevention must have the evidence, meaning it must have been clinically tested and manufactured through a scientifically established norm.”

He stressed that though traditional medicines are useful to the body, but the knowledge around traditional practice in Nigeria is very poor as they are not practiced side-by-side with orthodox medicine.

“Herbal solutions can do more harm because these are concoctions from trees and plants that people are using which have not been prepared, detoxified and we don’t know their doses.

“Some of these herbs have effects on strategic organs of the body like the liver and the kidney that the body require to function. And if you take the wrong dose for any reason, the toxicity can result to acute hepatic shutdown and if you have acute liver failure you die,’’ he said.

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The commissioner said by taking lemon, one would get Vitamin C to boost body immunity, provide the body with additional fluid for circulation, which is essential for the body to function, but not a cure.

“There is no vaccination for COVID-19 as of now; there is no treatment apart from symptomatic management. If you take plenty lemon, you will have plenty Vitamin C and nothing more as far as we are concerned in medicine,” Gana added.

The commissioner advised the public to be on red alert to report any suspected cases of coronavirus to the rapid response team that have been activated in all local government areas of the state for action.