Samuel Chege was down with severe pneumonia three weeks ago. Despite trying several conventional medicines, the situation was not getting any better.
He decided to use Healthouself Formular 5, a Chinese Herbal drug to treat the condition and within four days he was feeling better.
The little known drug by Kenyans, has been touted as a possible treatment for Covid-19, and has been used to treat patients in Wuhan, the once epicentre of the virus. It has been in the country for eight months now.
The medicine has been approved by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board for use in treatment of viral pneumonias in the country.
Samson Mbugua is a business personal assistant who resides along Jogoo Road. On March 26, he tested positive for the virus.
He was having chest pains and stuffy nose. Unlike majority of people who have contracted the disease, Mbugua did not lose his sense of taste.
He got referral about the drug from a friend. He decided to try it alongside painkillers so he got his box from one of the pharmacies in the Nairobi’s OTC.
“Reports we have been receiving from the World Health Organisation is that there is no convectional medicine that can treat and alleviate Covid-19. Given that I had reports of how China had managed their Covid situation in Wuhan, I opted to try the product that these guys are using.
“The good thing is that it doesn’t have any side effects, it tastes like herbal tea. I went for a test after the 14 day and was found negative. The only conventional thing I was taking was painkillers. That is all,” he adds.
The two traditional Chinese medicines by Jiangyin Tianjiang, a global Chinese Pharmaceutical company, were launched to help boost immunity against pneumonia, severe respiratory infections and zoonotic infections.
Operating under a local agent XRP Medical Kenya Limited, the company has introduced Healthouself Formular 3 and Healthouself Formula 5, combinations of herbal medicines to be used to prevent and strengthen immunity and for treatment of severe acute respiratory infections.
HOW IT WORKS
Healthouself Formular 3 is mainly used for prevention against flu, colds and nosocomial infections while and Healthouself Formula 5 is mainly used in the treatment of viral pneumonia, severe respiratory infections and zoonotic infections.
The products have been used in China to reduce cases of acute respiratory infections by boosting human immunity.
Unlike conventional drugs that work like arrows by targeting special symptoms, the herbal medicine works by refreshing the whole body.
“You know the issue with Covid is that the virus is destroying all organs including the brain so the herbal drug is good thing. We started selling these drugs and the feedback is very good. Many lives have been saved especially those with light symptoms,” XRP Medical Kenya Limited CEO Henry Chui said.
The official however advices that taking the medicine does not mean abandoning the containment measures put in place by the government.
He notes that despite China having controlled the virus and only reporting few imported cases, people still observe social distancing rules and wear masks.
“Even after getting the vaccine if you don’t follow these regulations you will be infected again so regulations are important,” he cautions.
"PPB has given us a license for Formular 3 for prevention and Formular 5 for treatment of viral pneumonia. PPPB has not mentioned Covid, it is called viral pneumonia but Covid is one kind of viral pneumonia,” he adds.
The formular 3 box contains 10 sachets that should be taken daily, one in the morning and one in the evening for five days, 30 minutes before a meal. The drug contains seven ingredients.
Formular 5 on the other hand has 12 sachets to be taken four daily, two in the morning and two in the evening for three days, and contains 21 ingredients. It is stronger than formlar 3 since it is formulated for treatment of acute pneumonia.
Children above three years and not more than 10 years can take one third of the sachet as dosage, those aged between 10 and 18 are supposed to take half a sachet while those above should take the dosage as adults.
Chui says one box is always enough, but in some cases there is need to take two or three boxes before full recovery. In one extreme case, the patient had to take four boxes.
“Every day people are dying, if they can take Formular 3 to prevent and after they are infected they take Formular 5 even one box they can recover, but there are also very serious situations that even medicine cannot help because the oxygen levels is already low,” he says.
Formular 3 can help medical stuff in virus prevention as it helps boost immunity while it also helps them get sound sleep after working in a chaotic hospital environment.
Formular 5 is taken after you are infected and it can help the body to expel the toxins, virals and moisture out of the body.
COST
A box of Healthouself Formular 3 retails at Sh2,500 while Healthouself Formula 5 retails at Sh4,400.
The CEO says despite the drug looking costly, the price is fair compared to costs patients incur when admitted in various hospitals.
For instance, those in the cost of Intensive Care Unit rums up to Sh100,000 for a single day.
“The most important thing is to prevent than to be infected because fact has proved that this Covid virus has lingering effect even after you recover, it damages many organs, can cause disability, hearing or mental problems,” he said.
For almost one year, the patients who have used the drug have no not reported any side effects as it is 100 per cent herbal.
Commenting on the product the Pharmacy and Poisons Board noted that the feedback received from those who had used the drug was overwhelming.
“Three Chinese herbals have been registered among them Healthouself Formular 3 and Healthouself Formula 5. A fourth local herbal product is in the process of registration,” PPB Director products registration and evaluation Dr Ronald Inyangala said.
“We have gotten feedback from people who have used the products saying they felt better but we have not yet conducted a study on the same,” Dr Inyangala added.
But the ingredients found in the two herbal medicines have been tried and tested in China as a complimentary prevention alongside other treatment options to manage respiratory infections.
During the trial among 564 patients admitted at the Jiangxia Fangcang TCM hospital, 482 were cured and their blood biochemical indices such as lymphocytes and leucocytes showed significant improvements and this shortened the disease treatment course.
The National Administration of TCM says China has shared TCM therapy, effective prescriptions and clinical experience for dealing with Covid-19 with more than 80 countries and regions.
In September 2020, the Regional Expert Committee on Traditional Medicine for Covid-19 formed by the WHO, the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and the African Union Commission for Social Affairs endorsed protocols for phase III clinical trials of herbal medicine for Covid-19.
It also endorsed a charter and terms of reference for the establishment of data and safety monitoring board for herbal medicine clinical trials.
-Edited by SKanyara
