Traditional Medicine and Its Role in the Management of Diabetes Mellitus: “Patients’ and Herbalists’ Perspectives”

Table 6

Reasons for using traditional medicines for diabetes given by participants who answered a questionnaire (N=140).

Variables	n	%
Reason for deciding to use traditional medicine
High cost of the conventional medicines	25	17.9
Accessibility and availability of traditional medicine	24	17.1
Advice of friends and relatives	45	32.1
Do not use traditional medicine	46	32.9
Usefulness of the medicine on managing diabetes
Leads to very low blood pressure and hypoglycemia	17	12.1
Regulate blood glucose levels	77	55
Do not use traditional medicine	46	32.9
Reason for not using traditional medicines
Religious beliefs	3	9.3
Advice from health care providers	13	9.3
Not aware of the effectiveness or how to use it	11	7.9
Prefer not to mix treatment with conventional medicines and traditional medicines	9	6.4
Do use traditional medicine	94	67.1
Reasons for using both conventional medicines and traditional medicines
More effective	28	20
Cost substitution	16	11.4
Looking for effective treatment	27	19.3
Not applicable	69	53.6
Complications of using traditional medicines
High blood pressure	42	30
Eye, kidney, and joint problems	18	12.9
Diabetes only	34	24.3
Do not use traditional medicines	46	32.9