12th May, 2018
Mr Yunusa Zarumai, the Chief Nursing Officer at the Eye Centre, General Hospital Minna, Niger, has warned Nigerians of inherent dangers in patronising traditional healers for eye treatment.
Zarumai, an Ophthalmic Nursel, gave the warning in an interview in Minna on Friday.
According to him, unorthodox eye treatment is detrimental not only to the eye but to general health of an individual.
He said that orthodox treatment was the right treatment for the eye rather than resorting to crude traditional treatment that would endanger the eye.
“We are advocating that eye patients attend our hospital, where we have modern equipment that would be used for proper examination.
“That will give them the opportunity for the eye to be well examined and the right diagnosis made to proffer lasting solution to the eye condition,” he said.
Similarly, Zarumai cautioned those in the habit of taking tobacco snuff to treat their eye problem to desist from the act.
“This is not good enough for the general well being of the eye, especially the nervous system.
“Tobacco is harmful because it contains harmful and addictive chemicals that can raise the risk of many health challenges,” he said.
Zarumai said that using snuff could also raise risks of other conditions, such as high blood pressure, which can cause hypertensive retinopathy.
He therefore advised Nigerians, especially the aged, to shun snuffing as it does more harm to the body system than the perceived good they believe it does.