Amoeba Disease and Medication

 Written by: Wahida Sabir

Amoeba is an intestinal disease that is formed by the growth of the parasite in the intestine. The disease may live in a person's body for several years. The amoeba causes severe diarrhea, dysentery, heartburn, and fever as it grows exponentially in the intestinal tract.

Eating food with dirty hands, eating unwashed fruits and unwashed vegetables, drinking contaminated water i.e. sea and stream water, and the water of wells near to the toilets, etc. If the patient does not take the medicines according to the recommendation of the physician, he/she might face some other health problems. AEPO’s writer/producer has talked to some patients and a physician about this issue.

Maliha, a resident of Balkh province says, “I was suffering a bad stomach pain when I was going to the toilet and if I was eating vegetables, my pain was increasing. When I went to the doctor, he diagnosed that I was suffering from amoeba. He prescribed some medicines but I did not take the medicines regularly and as the result, I faced anemia and became very weak.”

Nazila, a resident of Kabul city says, “I had amoeba and the doctor advised me some medicines but I did not take all the medicines and the disease attacked me again and now I am so weak that I cannot walk easily.”

Doctor Sayed Adil Shah Niromand, an internist at Wazir Akbar Khan Hospital, Kabul city talks about this disease: “If amoebic patients do not take their medicines recommended by the doctor, it can cause to complicate the treatment of the disease. An abscess or accumulation of pus that requires continuous treatment and even surgery operation would necessary, and it might affect the nose and cause meningitis, in which the patient might lose his/her consciousness.”

What do people think about the causes that medicines do not affect?

Maliha says, “I was not taking the medicines according to the recommendation of my doctor and I was taking them every other day and they did not work on my disease.”

Shazia, a resident of Kabul city says, “I was suffering from amoeba disease and the doctor prescribed some medicines. After a few days, I felt better and I did not take the remained medicines and as the result, the disease attacked me again.”

Doctor Niromand says, “As the medicines are made of chemical substances, and if the patient does not take his/her medicines according to the prescription of the physician, the parasite becomes ten times more resistant to the medicines and this case a continuous treatment is necessary, in which the medicines might have a bad effect on the patient's stomach and his/her body would also be negatively affected.”

How  do some people find a solution to this issue?

Abdul Bari, a resident of Qarabagh district, Kabul province says, “I was suffering from amoeba disease and I took the medicines according to the recommendation of the doctor and I completely recovered from this disease.”

 Mujib, a resident of Kabul city says, “I was suffering from amoeba disease. The doctor prescribed me medicines. The medicines were very bitter and I decided to leave them in half but my mother prevented me and she was giving me some fresh fruits to eat after taking medicines and  now I am completely recovered from amoeba disease.”

Doctor Niromand says, “Taking the recommended medicines is very important for the amoebic patients. If they have stomach diseases, they should share the issue with their doctors and they might recommend some medicines for their stomach ache too. The amoebic patients should take soft foods and drink liquids more and also fresh fruits are recommended for them. Taking amoeba medicines regularly would help the patients to get rid of the disease soon and would prevent the spread of amoeba to healthy people.”