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  • Title: Treatment of diarrhoea by proprietary-medicine vendors.
    Author: Ojuawo A, Oyaniyi OT.
    Journal: Niger J Paediatr; 1993 Apr; 20(2):41-4. PubMed ID: 12347908.
    Abstract:
    Although oral rehydration therapy (ORT) is an effective and inexpensive means of treating dehydration resulting from acute gastroenteritis, many parents in Nigeria usually first seek treatment from patent-medicine dealers for their children with diarrheal diseases. The authors investigated the treatment of diarrhea by 75 patent and proprietary medicine store vendors in Ilorin, capital of Kwara State. There are 417 registered patent and proprietary medicine stores in the city. Seven investigators visited the stores where they individually presented themselves as parents or guardians of a child with diarrhea. 33.3% of respondents selling the medicines at the stores were owners, while the rest were only employees. 30% of the employees were primary school students. The storekeepers and employees rarely asked questions about the diarrhea and did not ask to see the child with diarrhea to determine whether there were signs of dehydration. Unaware of the efficacy of ORT, respondents at all stores recommended drugs to treat diarrhea. Storekeepers also poorly understood the seriousness of the condition and the need to refer some cases to a medical center. The government needs to review the existing laws which regulate the establishment and functions of such proprietary medicine stores. Furthermore, courses for store vendors need to be updated, with vendor training supervised by a monitoring system.
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