Aphrodisiac-fuelled sex common in northern Nigeria, can cause headaches — Study

A study has revealed that aphrodisiac-fuelled sex is common among the adult population in northern Nigeria, with 20 percent of the users ending up with undesirable experiences such as headaches.

Researchers, in a survey on the use of traditional medicines for sexual enhancement in Northern Nigeria, said its use is common, especially among females and those with multiple wives.

The survey said 508 of the 794 adults aged 18 years and above that participated in the study reported ever using traditional medicines for sexual enhancement, putting its prevalence at 64 percent and Islamic medicine being the most frequently implicated traditional medicine.

The report was in the August edition of the Journal of Community Health.

According to the study, 213 respondents (26.8 percent) obtained the sexual enhancement medicine from traditional practitioners, 30 (3.8 percent) reported daily use, 49 (4.9 percent) weekly, 65 (8.2 percent) monthly and 473 (59.6 percent) as when needed.

In addition, 164 (20.7 percent) reported experiencing side effects, mostly headaches; 59 of them (35.9 percent) and 31 (3.9 percent) were severe (required hospitalisation).

However, the predictors of traditional sexual enhancers were found to be gender, marital status, the number of wives, ethnicity, educational level and lifestyle.

The researchers said given the common use of traditional medicines for sexual enhancement among the adult population in northern Nigeria and one out of five of the users reporting unpleasant consequences, there is the need for improved awareness of the safe use of these medicines in the community, especially among females, those with multiple wives and others with poor lifestyles.

Meanwhile, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has warned Nigerians that some herbal drugs designed to enhance sexual performance are laced with cannabis and other harmful chemicals.

Dangerous herbal aphrodisiacs, according to NAFDAC, include Gagare manpower, minister for manpower, Almenjou for lazy men in bed, Nisan zango karfin maza, Shagalin ka manpower, Dakan jiya manpower enhancement, Wuff male sexual performance and Afafata.

NAFDAC Director-General, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, who gave the warning at the agency’s headquarters in Abuja during a media chat, said clinical evaluations of the drugs show that most of them contained Indian hemp and other dangerous chemicals that are harmful to the body and can cause brain damage.

She stated, “Haonu laha herbal mixture is registered, but laced with unapproved substances that are injurious to the body. Among many others, Kurkura is an illicit product illegally consumed for the sole aim of getting intoxicated.

“The substance, when used, can be harmful to the body organs such as the brain, kidney and liver. It can also cause irrational thinking and an altered state of mind, which, if taken by drivers, can lead to road accidents with attendant fatality consequences. This could also lead to criminal behaviours such as rape, kidnapping and murder.”

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