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Use of Medicines in Women’s Health
Medicines are drugs that can be used to help the body fight
disease or feel better when sick. Medicines can be either modern
or traditional. In this book, we mostly talk about how to use
modern medicines. This is because traditional remedies vary
greatly from one region to another. A remedy that works in one
community may not exist or may not work in another community.
Ask traditional healers where you live to help you find remedies
that may work for your problem. (For more information about
using traditional remedies, see page 22.)
It is important to use medicines safely. Used properly,
medicines can save lives. But used improperly, medicines can hurt
and even kill you. For example, some medicines can cause health
problems for a pregnant or breastfeeding woman and her baby.
And some medicines may cause other problems (side effects) that
can be annoying, worrisome, or even dangerous to a person’s
health. If you take too much of a medicine at once, or if you take
it too often, it may harm you.
This chapter talks about how to safely use the medicines
mentioned in this book to treat women’s health problems. It also
provides information to help you decide when to use medicines
to improve women’s health.
➤ Medicines can
be useful, but they
cannot replace
healthy living, good
food, or good health
care.
Where Women Have No Doctor 2012