Apac locals believe urine and “Enguli” cures red eye

20 May 2024, 4:00 pm

By Mike Okwang Ogule & Isaac Newton Abili

A section of residents within Apac district are using urine and local waragi “Enguli” as ‘eye drops’ to treat conjunctivitis also known as red eye.

Dorcus Arao a resident of Amwonika, Akere Division in Apac Municipality, believed that urine and alcohol contributed in the cure of the said disease after introducing it to her three children who were infected a couple of days ago but quickly got better after applying drops of human urine beneath their eye lids.

 Arao says in a period of 2 days her children were able to feel much better and later got super well on the third day.

“I believe this local treatment works despite criticism, it helped me, my kids are now very okay,” Arao said.

Larwence Okeng a resident of Ajo-odyek Village, Alworoceng Parish in Ibuje Sub- County on the other hand said he quickly sought medical attention after realizing that his eyes were itching.

Okeng added that most of his village mates have now abandoned health facilities in favor of using urine after contracting the virus appealing that morden medicines are expensive, compared to urine.

Locals claim that urine and locally brewed alcohol (Enguli) cures red eye and toothache faster than modern medicines prescribed by health workers.

Christopher Oluk, a clinical officer in the eye department at Apac general hospital told Radio Apac that a total of 178 cases of red eye entered their book of record in the month of April, He said their department apparently records conjunctivitis patients on a daily basis.

Oluk, however, advised communities within Apac to seek medical attention as soon as possible but also champion the practice of hand washing with soap before touching their eyes in order to curtail the spread of the disease.

Conjunctivitis or red eye is a viral disease characterized by inflammation of the conjunctiva, redness of the eye, blurred vision, itching or burning of the eyes among others.

The Health Ministry declared an outbreak of red eyes in Uganda in March this year with the most affected areas being schools and prison facilities within Kampala. It is said to have apparently crossed through to different parts of the country.

WHAT LEADERS HAVE TO SAY

Ronald Otema Abawinyo the Apac municipal council speaker said, “The best thing to do is seeking guidance from medical experts for diagnosis, Urine may be cheap to get but in the long run, it’s very expensive to treat its blowback, visit your nearest health facility other than using local remedy.

Sam Opira the secretary health and education Apac District local government, “I stand against using traditional method to cure red eye, urine and alcohol that many people have adopted to may cause permanent eye impairment”

He also asked health educators within Apac district to improve on their roles of sensitizing  locals in churches, burial places and other social joints in order to create more awareness.