Attitude and its Associated Factors among Adults towards Traditional Eye Medicine in Gondar City, Northwest Ethiopia: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction@#This study is to assess attitude and its associated factors among adults towards traditional eye medicine in Gondar city, North West Ethiopia. Traditional medicines are commonly practiced in Africa. It is believed to be alternative health care used in the developing world. It is a more widely available and affordable alternative to pharmaceutical drugs. In Africa, about 13.2- 82.3% of the population utilizes traditional eye medicine.@*Methods@#A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 600 study participants using a pre-tested structured questionnaire. Data analysis was performed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20 computer software. Association and strength between the outcome variable and independent variables were determined using the odds ratio with a 95 % confidence interval.@*Results@#A total of 633 subjects were included in the study with a 95 % response rate. Of the total study subjects, 292 (48.7 %) (95% CI: 44.7-52.7%)) had a good attitude towards traditional eye medicine use. Variables like being male (AOR=2.00(95% CI: 1.23-2.68)), family history of traditional eye medicine use (AOR=3.31(95% CI: 2.01-5.47)), availability of traditional healer (AOR=1.81(95% CI: 1.12-2.95)) and absence of health insurance (AOR=1.63(95% CI: 1.14-2.55)) were variables significantly associated with good attitude towards traditional eye medicine use.@*Conclusions@#The result of this study shows that attitude towards traditional eye medicine use for the treatment of eye disease was fairly good. It indicates that almost half of the study participants had a good attitude towards traditional eye medicine use. Community awareness programme through collaboration of the health ministry and traditional healers on traditional eye medicine use can help to promote the right perception and reduce the risk of complications.

A Case of Toxic Keratoconjunctivitis by Self-application of Human Breast Milk

PURPOSE: We report a case of toxic keratoconjunctivitis resulting from the self-application of human breast milk as a traditional folk remedy for allergic conjunctivitis. CASE SUMMARY: An 82-year-old woman presented with pain and conjunctival hyperemia in the right eye that had been worsening for three days. Two months previously, she was treated with antiallergic eye drops for allergic conjunctivitis at another eye clinic. However, the symptoms did not improve. She applied her daughter-in-law's breast milk into her right eye as a folk remedy for three days. The pain and conjunctival hyperemia worsened. At the initial visit, her corrected visual acuity was 0.3 in the right eye. Slit lamp examination demonstrated conjunctival hyperemia, punctate epithelial erosion at the central cornea, corneal keratic precipitates and white-colored deposits in the peripheral cornea combined with irregularly shaped small nodules. There was no anterior chamber inflammation. There was no medical history of rheumatoid arthritis or tuberculosis. Blood tests for serum and other infectious and inflammatory levels for infection and inflammatory markers were performed followed by application of topical steroids and antibiotics with artificial tears. After 3 weeks of treatment, conjunctival hyperemia and corneal deposits had almost resolved and best-corrected visual acuity improved to 1.0. CONCLUSIONS: The self-application of human breast milk may cause toxic keratoconjunctivitis. Therefore, efforts should be made, actively, to inform and educate the elderly in rural areas not to use human breast milk as a folk remedy.