Health seeking behaviour and traditional management practices for symptoms of Onchocerciasis by residents of the Hawal River Valley, Nigeria

The health-care seeking behaviour of onchocerciasis infected residents of the Hawal River Valley; North Eastern Nigeria was investigated among 423 infected subjects using structured questionnaires, Focus Group Discussions and In-depth studies. The objectives of the investigations were to determine the preferred forms of treatment and management practices for different symptoms of onchocerciasis. Result obtained showed that overall; self-medication (27.2%) was the most preferred form of treatment, followed by traditional healing or herbal treatment (25.1%) while visits to hospitals/clinics (12.8%) were the least preferred. %). The differences between the number of people seeking the various types of treatment was found statistically significant (p>0.05).  Generally, the form of treatment sought depended on the particular symptoms.  For example, while 65.0% of those having musculoskeletal pains; 40.2% of those having pruritis and 34.8% of the visually impaired sought treatment from the drug hawkers/drug stores; none of those with LS, nodules, hydrocoele/elephantiasis and blindness patronised them. The symptoms for which treatment was sought most were musculoskeletal pains (46.7%) and pruritis (38.0%) and those for which least treatment were sought were leopard skin (1.3%) and blindness (1.3%). The result of the Focus Group Discussion (FGD) showed that screening of doors and windows was the most popular method (45.3%) of vector (Simulium) control. Personal hygiene (43.0%) and steam-bath (31.3%) were the most popular ways of prevention and management of pruritis (craw-craw) respectively while no traditional medication was found potent for the treatment or reversal of severe visual lesion and blindness.