Traditional medicine can’t cure sickle cell disease – SCAG
There is no traditional medicine that can cure the sickle cell disease and therefore people who have it should be wary in order not to be deceived by self-styled healers who might claim to have solution to the ailment.
Mr. Peter Mensah, National President of the Sickle Cell Association of Ghana (SCAG) who said this, expressed worry that there were many misconceptions about the disease which the Association was trying to correct to protect its members.
Speaking at the launch of the Central Region branch of the Association he said the stigma attached to the disease is very worrying.
Among the misconceptions are that persons with the disease must not eat certain types of food including egg, gari and yam and they that they could also not marry whilst the women cannot bear children.
They are also perceived to die early and so some parents refuse to spend money to educate their children who are sickle cell positive with the notion that they would not live long but Mr. Mensah debunked all these, saying when well-managed a person with the disease could live normal life and live long.
Some people with the disease who are above 60 years attended the inauguration and shared their experiences with the other members.
Sickle cell is an inherited disorder of the red blood cells (RBCs) caused by an abnormality of the red pigment in RBCs called haemoglobin and if both parents of an individual have the abnormality, he or she could inherit the combination of the two genes and therefore get the disease.
Research had established that the disease is prevalent among people of the black race.
He said the Association had been formed to give patients the platform to share their experiences and also help correct all the wrong impressions the public had about the disease by educating its members to have more information to be able to manage the disease to prevent serious crisis.
Mr. Mensah said a proposal in draft had been sent to parliament by the Suckle Cell Foundation and when approved, the Foundation would coordinate all activities in relation to Sickle Cell in the country.
He urged people with the disease and those with traits of the disease to join the Association for them to draw lessons from each other and also have the best of care whilst the Association helps in the maintenance of the disease.
Dr. Daniel Asare, the Medical Director in charge of the CRH, praised the formation of the Association in the Region and said knowing one’s status would help facilitate better management of the disease and appealed to the Public Health Department of the Hospital to intensify education to allay the fears of people with the disease.
He pledged the Hospital’s support to the Association to aid the proper coordination and education of sickle cell activities in the Region and called on all with the disease to join.
Mr. Joseph Sarfo Antwi, National Secretary of the Association, called for a national policy to screen new-born babies for early detection.
He said the Association’s objective was to foster good interaction between members as well as patients and doctors.
Some patients during an open forum expressed dismay that there was no special unit to care for them in times of crisis and called on all health facilities to establish such units for prompt attention when in crisis.
They also appealed to the Association to intensify its educational campaigns to help the public to have in-depth knowledge of the disease to help minimize the stigma attached to it because there are instances where people declare their status only to lose their jobs.
Source: GNA