TRADITIONAL TREATMENT OF CATARACT IN NIGER

Empiric treatment of cataracts by couching is still commonly performed by traditional healers in West Africa. In the ophthalmology departmen t in the regional hospital of Zinder, in Niger, 22 cases have been ide ntified and their complications treated medically and surgically. The semiotic analysis demonstrated the diversity of methods used, sometime s successfully by the traditional healers. Apart from the classical te chnics of luxation in the vitreous, we have observed a number of cases with integrity of the posterior capsule and disappearance of the nucl eus. These last observations have lead us to believe that certain trad itional healers may use local plants with phakolytic effects in their pharmacopia.