Togo - West Africa - page 1023

Scorpions are frequently found in arid or dry climates. They have a painful sting that is sometimes life- threatening .
If stung by a scorpion, seek immediate medical assistance.
Bed bugs are found in hostels and cheap hotels and lead to itchy, lumpy bites. Spraying the mattress with crawling-in-
sect killer after changing bedding will get rid of them.
Scabies are also found in cheap accommodation. These tiny mites live in the skin, often between the fingers, and they
cause an intensely itchy rash. The itch is easily treated with malathion and permethrin lotion from a pharmacy; other
members of the household also need treating to avoid spreading scabies, even if they do not show any symptoms.
Snake Bites
Avoid getting bitten! Don't walk barefoot or stick your hand into holes or cracks. Half of those bitten by venomous
snakes are not actually injected with poison. If bitten by a snake, do not panic. Immobilise the bitten limb with a splint
(such as a stick) and apply a bandage over the site, with firm pressure (similar to bandaging a sprain). Do not apply a
tourniquet, or cut or suck the bite. Get medical help as soon as possible so antivenom can be given if needed. It will help
get you the correct antivenom if you can identify the snake, so try to take note of its appearance.
Water
Never drink tap water unless it has been boiled, filtered or chemically disinfected (eg with iodine tablets). Never drink
from streams, rivers or lakes. It's best to avoid drinking from pumps and wells - some do bring pure water to the sur-
face, but the presence of animals can contaminate supplies.
Traditional Medicine
At least 80% of the African population relies on traditional medicine, often because conventional Western-style medi-
cine is too expensive, because of prevailing cultural attitudes and beliefs, or simply because in some cases it works. It
might also be because there's no other choice: a WHO survey found that although there was only one medical doctor for
every 50,000 people in Mozambique, there was a traditional healer for every 200 people.
Although some African remedies seem to work on malaria, sickle cell anaemia, high blood pressure and some AIDS
symptoms, most African healers learn their art by apprenticeship, so education (and consequently application of know-
ledge) is inconsistent and unregulated. Conventionally trained physicians in South Africa, for example, angrily describe
how their AIDS patients die of kidney failure because a sangoma (traditional healer) has given them an enema contain-
ing an essence made from powerful roots. Likewise, when traditional healers administer 'injections' with porcupine
quills, knives or dirty razor blades, diseases are often spread or created rather than cured.
Rather than attempting to stamp out traditional practices, or pretend they aren't happening, a positive step taken by
some African countries is the regulation of traditional medicine by creating healers' associations and offering courses on
topics such as sanitary practices. It remains unlikely in the short term that even a basic level of conventional Western-
style medicine will be made available to all the people of Africa (even though the cost of doing so is less than the annual
military budget of some Western countries). Traditional medicine, on the other hand, will almost certainly continue to be
practised widely throughout the continent.