Understanding the Role of Herbs in a World Without Modern Medicine

I read @burlarj's post about this particular prompt earlier today and as I read, it made me remember my childhood and how herbs were mostly used to cure any ailments we had. Kudos to my mom who was an expert when it came to knowing the names of each herb and would administer it to us when we were sick.

We never visited the hospital even during our births as my siblings and I were given birth to in church. When we are sick, mom would either take us to the church where they would heat a big bowl of herbs with varieties, we would bend low as our heads would be placed over the hot bowl as we inhale the steam that flows out of the boiled herb then with brooms hitting our bodies, we would get well and most times pretended we were okay because we don't want to go through such process again.

On several occasions, mom would list all the items to get and would give me to go get them and boil them in a big pot. A day never passes by that we don't drink herbs even before eating our meal. She believed in its effectiveness and potency which everyone also believed in. As I grew up, I became more fond of taking herbal concoctions than visiting the hospitals to be injected or prescribed drugs. There is no doubt that herbs work well when it comes to treating illnesses like typhoid, gonorrhoea, malaria, fever and others.

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There are herbs to cure these illnesses as it reduces the cost of going to the hospital for check-ups and being administered expensive drugs. This is what most people depend on today as they believe that herbs can cure any illness with a 💯 guarantee. The truth is we cannot depend on the effectiveness of herbs when it comes to some life-threatening illnesses that require urgent treatment like cancer, diabetes, stroke, seizures etc. There is a need to ignore herbs and go for the right treatment to cure them, or else death comes after.

Lack of knowledge about the treatment of these sicknesses has made many people depend only on herbs, also lack of finances. In a movie I watched some time ago, the boy had a sickness that was contracted from dirty water and they started treatment with herbs because the grandfather was an herbalist who specialises in herbs, for two years, they kept depending on herbs but the more they applied those herbs, the bigger the swollen parts on one of his legs. It was when some people came to enlighten them on modern drugs and plans were made to take the boy to the city to perform operations on him.

The boy could have died if not for the timely enlightenment and proper treatment done to him through different kinds of operations carried out. For two years, those villagers depended on herbs but the problem was beyond the use of traditional medicines. This is to say depending totally on herbal medicines would pose a risk which could lead to sudden death caused by one's ignorance. So, it is impossible to depend fully on herbs.

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In a situation where humans cannot manufacture modern drugs, a lot would be at stake as humans would likely face significant challenges in maintaining their health and treating diseases. While herbs can be effective in treating minor ailments, they often lack the potency of modern medicines. Herbs can not cure diseases like diabetes, cancer, heart disease because they don't provide antibiotics, vaccines and life-saving drugs.

When it comes to modern medicines, they require a deep understanding of chemistry, biology and pathology. Though traditional healers and herbalists may have extensive knowledge of how to prepare these herbs, they still need to learn the scope of some complex health conditions, and that knowing how to use herbs will not help in this situation.

Lastly, one of the strengths of modern medicines is the ability to establish a specific drug treatment and ensure its safety and effective use across different patients. This process involves knowing the correct amount of medication to give a patient to achieve the desired result. Herbs, on the other hand, can vary in potency depending on how they are grown and harvested and when drugs are improperly used or not identified well, it can lead to harm on the patient.

In conclusion, while herbs remain effective to some certain level without modern medicines, they still cannot be replaced with the full potency and authenticity of treatments that modern medicine provides.

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^{All pictures are mine}