SELF MEDICATION.

One of the 'brothers' of fake drugs in Nigeria is self medication.
At least 85% of the general population is guilty and only God knows how many have died as a direct result of or from complications arising from our penchant for knowing what is wrong with ourselves and then buying meds to treat themselves.
I cannot count how many times I have been guilty of this offense but the older i get, the more pain & suffering my body goes through just because I think I know it all.
I know at least two people I can identify who have died because they did this. One young lady felt feverish and bought over the counter anti-malaria tablets.... it subsided but after a week, the symptoms came on stronger so she went to a chemist who said she had malaria parasite & she needed "dual therapy" treatment.
She took the meds and was o.k. for two weeks when she collapsed on her way to an exam. She was rushed to the hospital and tests revealed she had advanced typhoid fever. She was placed on drip & meds but she had complications-her intestines were perforated... she gave up after battling for four days.
A week ago my back, my waist in particular hurting like mad!, (it still is)... i don't like taking meds, I'm used to pain because I'm a sportsman, always spraining & straining something...but this is a nuisance. I can't bend and straiten up, lift stuff, sit in one place for long... so looked around for help- i saw some tabs i was given for a chest pain till my x-ray results were ready...(it was for a pain, surely it would work for this one too!)
I took them- no luck...so i asked my friends & colleagues @ work. A friend (and fellow blogger suggested a Chiropractor on the island) A Chiro gini? The Nija man in me kicked in...Who go pay for that one?! Lailai!!!
So here I am a full grown man,educated, well travelled, punching this story through to the world wide web on my notebook and drinking a murky concoction of bark,garlic,herbs & God knows what else is inside this crazy bitterest-shit-u-ever-tasted bottle, squirming & looking like a hundred year old from wrinkling my face !!
(to be continued)