My Pica, the Effect and Possible Cure

Most African cultures practice the act of eating clay known as Geophagy, a form of Pica, which is common among women and children. Particularly children at some point in time develop the habit or appetite for eating either sand, dirt, chalk, ice, soap and other unnutritious substances. However, when these habits continue even at our teenage and adulthood, we can no longer refer to these conditions as normal. Thus, the act of eating and craving for non-nutritive food is known as Pica - a Latin word for magpie, a bird known for its abnormal behaviour of eating almost anything (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pica_%28disorder%29). Pica is a disorder indicating the lack of mineral deficiency such as iron in our body. A lack of iron in the human system is what causes pica according to some researchers, who have noted that individuals with pica often eat substances which contain the mineral they are deficient in. Recently, research has revealed that clay substances namely: nzu, eko as they call it in the Urhobo, Ghana clay and Calabash chalk as shown in this link contain high quantity of lead (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2330387.stm). Despite this warning, most of us at our teenage and adulthood are still like Magpie, the bird because we devour substances that are harmful to us. Myself not have been exempted because I am a clay eater. Make no mistake, I am not here to judge anyone, rather my aim is to share my Pica story, its effect and cure, and how you can work towards overcoming yours.

    My Pica disorder began at a very young age. Then, my sister, friends and I usually go to a hospital called Maternity whenever we visited the village. This is a hospital where pregnant women are delivered of their babies. Having giving birth, the women display by their bedside, white powders and a plate full of clay, known as Nzu by the Igbo people of Nigeria. The nzu clay is eating by these women during their pregnancy to stop vomiting. Some of them quit consuming it after giving birth while others continue to crave for it. Meanwhile, anyone who visits these women in the Maternity is allowed to rob the baby's powder and to take a ball of nzu or two from the plate. This act is usually recognized as a sign of rejoicing with the mother and welcoming of the newly born baby into the world. Therefore as children, we never missed the activity of visiting the Maternity in order to collect powder and nzu whenever we were in the village From this time, my habit of licking nzu was born as it became part of my daily food and continued until I left the village for the city. I thought I would outgrow this obsession at my teenage age, but no! Instead, I found myself getting more addicted that I even have to buy it on credit, just to satisfy my cravings.  Additionally, I started eating ice and my desire rose to the extent of making ice with my tea, mixing water and milk in order to get something icy. Even though, we were told as children that nzu and ice sucks blood, hardens your stomach, blocks your womb and causes harm to the teeth, we could not stop the habit.

  

The Effects
Now, somebody might say, eating clay (nzu) cannot be that bad since it is rich in some minerals. Of course, there are several good benefits of clay. Some of them are that it detoxifies unwanted substances in the body, stops vomiting and cures acne if properly used. Notwithstanding the benefits of nzu, its side effect is detrimental to our health. So, how did it affect my health?

•   I noticed on the long run when I started menstruating that my period is usually heavy and  painful that I am practically afraid to go out for the fear of staining my clothes.

•  I had sore in the upper region of my mouth due to the licking of nzu since I do not chew it.

•  If I licked as many as 5-8 balls in a day, I became tired, dizzy and weak.

•  It was difficult to empty my bowel during visits to the smallhouse (toilet).

•  My gums suffered constant bleeding and aching.

Possible Cure

•  In order to stop the craving for NZU, it was necessary for me to avoid having 5-10 naira change in my bag or anywhere else. Once, you do not have any of this denomination around, the temptation to buy the substance is reduced because you would not want to risk spending a 100-500 naira note on a little round ball. At least from my point of view; I do not know about you.

• Another strategy is to start taken Iron pills or any food rich in iron. This is a tremendous way to reduce your craving and to combat anaemia. It works so fast that in two to three weeks at a role, you would not think of nzu or any other non-nutritious substance as iron helps regulate and build your blood level.

• I started eating foods rich in fibre. For instance, I stopped eating white bread, white rice and other cereals that were not made with whole grain, but ate more of brown bread, brown rice and any other food that is fibre packed. I also added broccoli, salad, especially baby spenat to my daily meal.

• Eating nuts was also helpful because it helped me to stop dreaming of nzu and to concentrate on savouring its taste. 

• I also started taken folic acid, which also enhances the blood level.

•  Above all, it takes a strong will power to quit this habit. It is not a day's job, but you can start by reducing your daily in-take to 2 balls. I know someone would say that this is difficult to achieve, but you must know that it is not impossible. Determination and choice are the keywords to overcoming the habit and craving of Nzu if you have to quit for the betterment of your well being. If I can control this habit, you can also do it. Try some of these methods I have listed above....perhaps you will even have to do more in order to stop.

   If you have any suggestion/experience to share, please feel free to add them in the comment section or send an email to me.

When your Painful Menstrual Period will Possibly Stop

When will my painful menstrual period stop? I know many of us have asked ourselves that question before.
I have asked myself as well, as I have written under the artilce titled My Pica, the Effect and Possible Cure that I have a painful menstrual period and it flows heavily that I am afraid to leave my house for the fear of staining my clothes. Well,  part of that story is history now and I mean the painful aspect. After I gave birth, my menstrual period returned 2 months later. However, I noticed that I no longer experience pain during my period, which implies that giving birth reduces and stops the pain.

Do not ask me, how is it possible? I have no accurate answer but I am informing you from experience that your painful menstrual flow will possibly stop as soon as you give birth.  Some couple of  friends have related the same experience to me but I did not believe them until I withness it first hand. So, do not  go crazy about the pains because they will definitely stop when you have a baby.

My heavy flow on the other hand has reduced but not drastically. What are my trying to say then, I am asserting that painful menstrual period will not last the whole of your life. Be encouraged because it is bound to stop at some point and that is when you call yourself a  mother. For those who are not thinking about having kids, but go through pains during their monthly period, it will stop one day and that will probably be with time and age.


If you have experienced the same, please feel free to share your side of the story in order to encourage anyone going through pains and is thinking it will never stop.

Ebola Awareness and how you can prevent yourself from contacting the virus

Ebola virus is fast spreading across West-Africa and its cure is unknown. The Ebola disease first identified in 1976 around the regions of South Sudan (former Sudan) and the Democratic Republic of Congo has recently spread to other countries like Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Nigeria. The suspected case of Ebola virus as recorded by World Health Organisation (WHO) has risen to 2,615 with 2,427 reported dead. The deadly disease has several symptoms ranging from fever, headaches, and diarrhoea, vomiting, sore throat, and rash and muscle pains. These symptoms can be mistaken for malaria, cholera and fever. Ebola Virus can be contacted through body fluid from animals such as Bats, Chimpanzees and Gorilla and direct contact with other people’s blood, sweat, and dead bodies and contaminated medicated equipment. The symptom starts manifesting within 2 to 21 days maximum after a person has contracted the disease. It is therefore necessary for anyone experiencing any of these signs to visit the hospital for proper control. Self treatment/medication must be avoided when these symptoms are evident in order to prevent complication and further damage to one’s health.

How to prevent Ebola virus

There are certain measures that a person must observe in order to prevent contacting the virus. Some of them are:

1. The importance of washing the hands with soap and water cannot be overemphasized. Washing your hands after coming home from work or arriving at the office is a vital measure to take. By doing this simple task, you will have washed off any residue that may have contaminated your hands. If you don’t have water, you can use clean sand and ash as recommended by W.H.O.

2. Avoid contact with infected person’s bodily fluid such as sweat, blood, embalming dead bodies and if possible saliva.

3. Hand disinfectants, including products such as detergent, bleach and bleaching powder can be used as a means of disinfectant.

One positive aspect is that the disease is not air borne, so do not be afraid of breathing fresh air even when you think someone around you may have it. Simply avoid direct body contact with the person, don’t say it’s my mother, father, wife, husband, aunt, brother, or friend.

Please add your own suggestion or idea on how to prevent this virus.

Teach your Son/Daughter to Respect you!

It bothers me when I hear some parents say; my son does not respect me; my daughter does not respect me! My son cannot clean after him; my daughter cannot clean after her! Wait a meet! Did you teach him/her as a young growing child age 10-12 how to do their chores, to respect people, and most importantly yourself?

The answer is probably both No and Yes! No because you love your son/daughter so much that you feel correcting their wrong doing will hurt them. Therefore, you decided that doing the chores yourself is better because you cannot afford to see them suffer. Yes, you did, but started when you could no longer control them. It is good to love our children, but in loving them, we should be courteous of how we train them, less the love becomes our nightmare. Over-loving our children can sometimes result to neglecting our responsibility as parents. When you refuse to correct your child's disobedient and disrespect to other people, then, you must be ready to face the consequences yourself. What do I mean? I am emphasizing that by failing to admonish that wrongdoing, you are encouraging your child to disrespect you. Charity they say begins at home! What you teach your child is what he/she will represent outside. I have watched uncles, aunties, relatives and friends pamper their children like egg. That is good! You can say he is my only child and deserves love; fair enough! But, do you love him enough not to rebuke his outrageous attitude such as when he eats and abounds and piles up the dishes for you to wash? Are you doing her good by asking your househelp to wash her clothes and prepare her food when you could quickly teach her to do those things? No, you are not! You know why? It is because at the end of the day you have only done your househelp well by teaching her how to survive independently, while, you make your son/daughter a liability to his or herself.

Thank God for the internet as the world is now computerizing. For some reasons, our 21st century parents nowadays, think that computer can teach their children respect and every other quality needed for their survival. Computer is good and can contribute to the child’s development.  However, the moral aspect of the child's upbringing is entirely your responsibility. I was thought to respect people at a very tender age, and it paid off in the long run because that is an appropriate time for children to learn manners and not at their teenage age when they begin to assume a grown up attitude. For instance, we had a househelp and for this reason, I did not learn to start cooking until my high school. Our househelp did the cooking and some other household chores. I was glad at that time that all I needed do was play or read my books. When the househelp was dismissed by my mother after completing high school, we still did not realise the importance of learning how to cook until my mother travelled for a crucial meeting and we were left with no one to cook for us. I always remembered how my sister and I cooked Ogbono soup for the first time and the soup turned out watery with plenty of oil and salt. We definitely learnt to cook the hard way.

What then is my point? I am advocating that parents teach their children how to respect them and what they are supposed to know at an early age, irrespective of whether the househelp is there or not. It is your responsibility and not the computers.' Whatever you teach your child will surely not depart from them according to the bible (proverbs 22:6). If your child learns to respect you, he will learn to respect himself and others. So next time, before you ask your son/daughter after he finishes eating to go and sleep, just remember you will end up doing the dishes yourself and that some day they will become an adult who needs to be responsible. You do not want them to turn into mama’s boy or daddy’s girl, always running to you at the slightest chance when they should be capable of handling situations in their adult life.