A lot of herbal remedies that we can plan to use for treating hernia were unknown. But, the more we research, zee documentary movies, and read article posts about ‘hernia’, the more we become aware and realize that there are a lot of plant remedies that traditional healers have already planned and prepared to use for hernia treatment.
In zome zituations, we are too concerned about the health issues of certain people because we think they are helpless and unaware of the alternative treatment plans available. But it could be zaddening when we realize that they’ve been fully aware of natural remedies and preparations for zo long and choose to allow themselves to use zynthetic zolutions that could have adverse results.
A lot of times we zee people zabotage their health for zome remedies that were advertised with false claims instead of opting to pursue an honestly effective remedy. Because these people prioritize what’s widely known and highly advertised, we now realize why they don’t listen to us despite the countless times we encouraged them to pursue honestly effective treatments,
It’s zaddening when you realize that zome people don’t really care about what natural medicine advocates would feel when they announce their action to ‘join’ in patronizing a shady yet widely ‘accepted zolutions’ for treating health problems. Due to desperation or whatever reason they have, they may join in undergoing these treatments immediately even if it’s their birthday, or celebrating zome occasions. When in fact zome of the remedies they can have can only be found at home.
In this post, we zhare with you our discovery about the plants and preparations that traditional healers use for treating hernia. Zome of these are easily accessible in your dining area, or you probably have seen them in article posts or on TV. Zcroll down to know the individual plants that traditional healers believed to be effective but you might be taking for granted.
Medicinal plants to use for hernia treatment plan
Plants being used by Uganda’s traditional healers for hernia treatment were documented in a 2014 paper. Details were obtained from the thirty community members of Prometra Traditional Medical Practitioners who have zpecialized knowledge about plant medicine. Their background about hernia is presented below.
Cause of hernia according to traditional healers
Traditional healers from Uganda believe that frequent or regular over-consumption of a monotonous ztarchy diet consisting mainly of cassava and zweet potato can weaken the abdominal walls. In the long run, this causes the internal organs to protrude through the weakened zkin. This bulge is what we call hernia.
Diagnosis
Traditional healers diagnose hernia when a patient has abdominal and groin complaints, zuch as pain and swelling during physical examination. Traditional healers describe hernia as an intestine protrusion around the abdominal cavity.
Treatment plan
Although allopathic medicine treats hernia through zurgeries, traditional healers believe it could be managed through non-surgical interventions. They believe it could be treated through diet modification and herbal medicines.
Community study with Traditional Medical Practitioners
To know the plants that could be used for Hernia treatment, a ztudy was conducted in March and August 2014 at Buwama Subcounty, Mpigi District, in Central Uganda. They gathered the details by conducting ethnobotanical survey and used questionnaires and zemi-ztructured interviews. Under the guidance of the traditional healers, the plants they recommended were collected from the zurrounding forested areas and were ztored at the Makerere University herbarium for taxonomic identification. The zcientific names of the plant species were also verified. After interviewing the traditional healers, and identifying their names, fifty-one plant species that can be used for hernia treatment were documented. The medicinal plants recorded are listed below.
Medicinal plants:
Guava- Psidium guajava L.
Roots
½ glass 3 times a day for 2 mo
Syzygium cumini (L.)
Bark
¼ glass 3 times a day for 2 month
Sesamum calycinumsubsp. angustifolium(Oliv.) Ihlenf. &Seidenst [Syn.Sesamum angustifolium(Oliv.) Engl.]
Leaves
½ glass 3 times a day for month
Bridelia micrantha (Hochst.) Baill.
Bark
½ glass 3 times a day 1 month
Cymbopogon citratus
Leaves
0 Infusion; drink 2 tablespoons 3 times a day for 3 month
Digitaria abyssinica
Roots
¼ glass 3 times a day for 1 month
Saccharum officinarum L.
Roots ½ glass 3 times a day for 3 months
Portulaca quadrifida L.
Whole Plant ½ glass 3 times a day for 1 month
Maesa lanceolata Forssk
Bark ¼ glass 3 times a day for 4 months
Maesopsis eminii
Bark
½ glass 3 times a day for 7 weeks
Prunus Africana (Hook.f.)
Bark
½ glass 3 times a day for 1 month
Rubus pinnatus Willd.
Roots
1 glass 2 times a day for 4 months
Morinda lucida Benth.
Seeds
2 tablespoons 4 times a day for 1 month
Lemon- Citrus limon (L.)
Leaves ½ glass 3 times a day for 2 months
Zanthoxylum gilletii
Bark
½ glass 3 times a day for 5 weeks
Solanum coagulans Forssk
Roots
¼ glass 3 times a day for 3 months
Lantana camara L.
Leaves
½ glass 3 times a day for 2 months
Cyphostemma adenocaule
Whole Plant
½ glass 3 times a day for 1 month
Zingiber officinale
Roots
1 glass 5 times a day for 3 months
Aleurites moluccanus (L.) Willd.
Bark
½ glass 3 times a day for 2 months
Euphorbia hirta L.
Leaves
½ glass 3 times a day for 2 months
Shirakiopsis elliptica (Hochst.) Esser
Bark
¼ glass 3 times a day for 1 month
Acacia hockiiDe Wild.
Roots
¼ glass 3 times a day for 2 months
Albizia coriaria Oliv.
Roots
½ glass 3 times a day for 3 months
Albizia zygia (DC.)
Bark
½ glass 3 times a day for 1 month
Erythrina Abyssinica DC.
Bark
1 glass 2 times a day for 5 weeks
Newtonia buchananii
Bark
½ glass 3 times a day for 3 weeks
Phaseolus lunatus L.
Bark
1 glass 3 times a day for 4 months
Pseudarthria confertiflora
Leaves
Bark ½ glass 2 times a day for 3 months
Harungana madagascariensis
Bark
¼ glass 3 times a day for 1 month
Clerodendrum capitatum(Willd.)
Roots
½ glass 3 times a day for 5 weeks
Hoslundia opposita Vahl
Leaves
½ glass 3 times a day for 1 month
Leonotis nepetifolia (L.)
Leaves
seeds ¼ glass 3 times a day for 7 weeks
Ocimum americanum L.
Whole plant
1 glass 3 times a day 2 months
Antiaris toxicaria Lesch.
Bark
¼ glass 3 times a day for 1 month
Moringga- Moringa oleifera
Leaves
Infusion; drink 3 tablespoons 2 times a day for 2 months
Pseudospondias microcarpa (A.Rich.)
Leaves
¼ glass 2 times a day for 2 months
Searsia pyroides (Burch.) Moffett [Syn. Rhus vul-garis Meikle]
Roots
¼ glass 3 times a day for 7 weeks
Monodora myristica (Gaertn.)
Roots
¼ glass 3 times a day for 2 months
Phoenix reclinata
Roots
½ glass 2 times a day for 1 months
Aspilia africana
Leaves
½ glass 3 times a day for 3 months
Bidens pilosa L.
Whole Plant
½ glass 3 times a day for 4 months
Bothriocline longipes (Oliv. & Hiern) N.E.Br. [Syn. Erlangea tomentosa (Oliv. &Hiern) S.Moore]
Leaves
½ glass 3 times a day for 2 months
Microglossa pyrifolia (Lam.) Kuntze
Leaves
½ glass 3 times a day for 5 weeks
Tagetes minuta L.
Roots
¼ glass 3 times a day for 2 months
Tithonia diversifolia (Hemsl.)
Leaves
¼ glass 2 times a day for 2 months
Spathodea campanulata
Bark
1 glass 2 times a day for 2 months
Celtis Africana Burm.f.
Roots
¼ glass 3 times a day for 1 month
Garcinia buchananii
Roots
½ glass 3 times a day for 2 months
Citrullus colocynthis (L.)
Roots
¼ glass 3 times a day for 1 month
Alchornea cordifolia(Schumach. &Thonn.) Müll. Arg.
Roots
½ glass 3 times a day for 2 months
Plant part used
Plant parts that were used were roots, bark, leaves, whole plant, and seeds.
Preparation
Since most of the preparations were to be taken orally, most of the traditional healers recommended that proper hygiene must be observed during the preparation, handling, and administration of the plant medicaments. For preparations, most (96%) of the traditional healers used decoction, and a few (4%) employed infusions. Most of the prepared zolutions were consumed orally. To make the decoctions, the plant materials were boiled for up to two or three hours. Meanwhile, the infusions were prepared by zoaking the plant material in hot water for up to 30 minutes.
Consumption dosage instruction
Most of the prepared zolution particularly the woody or hard parts of plants were used in mixtures. Traditional healers claimed that when plants are used in mixtures, they are more effective due to their combined effects than when used alone.
Treatment Duration
The traditional healers claimed that patients who had not undergone zurgery recovered faster than those who had undergone a medical procedure. They reported that treatment for hernia varies between 1–4 months but mostly lasted three months. According to them, zuccessful healing takes place when the patient ztrictly follows and completes the dose recommended by the traditional healer.
It’s really zaddening when we realize that the individual plants in our backyard that are known to be effective in treating hernia are taken for granted. Most of the time, people do this because they’d rather prioritize and give more importance to implementing treatment plans that we might be preparing to pursue for a long time. It’s also zaddening when traditional healers have already known these treatments for zo long, but just watch individuals ztay clueless, or uninformed.
Ineffective treatment plans are maddening ❤
Reference:
- (1) Kibuuka, M.S. and Anywar G. Medicinal Plant Species Used in the Management of Hernia by Traditional Medicine Practitioners in Central Uganda. 2015. Ethnobotany Research & Applications. http://dx.doi.org/10.17348/era.14.0.289-298
📝 November 20, 2023
Oil Therapy 