News / Africa
Gogos snapping up free condoms
06 Jan 2014 at 08:13hrs | Views
Gogos in Mpumalanga have been snapping up free condoms from clinics to… rub on their knees.
The condoms have become so popular amongst pensioners that Mpumalanga health and social development MEC Candith Mashego-Dlamini has had to appeal to the pensioners to stop taking them.
"I heard that gogos are taking condoms from the clinics non-stop, believing the jelly from the condoms are healing their knees,†she said at an "Outreach Towards 20 Years of Freedom†event held at Lundanda Primary School in Mahushu near Hazyview in December.
"We have sent the condoms to a laboratory to check if they heal your knees or not. If the results prove that they work, we will put the gel in small containers for you and make an announcement on radio,†she said.
One 69-year-old woman from Mahushu, near Hazyview, who asked not to be named, said the condoms help ease the pain in her knees by providing a healing warmth.
"I was experiencing pain everyday until my daughter called me three months ago to suggest that I should try rubbing the jelly from condoms on my knees. Since then, the pain is better,†said the pensioner. "I can now sleep peacefully.â€
In Kanyamazane, outside Mbombela, a 71-year-old man says one of his friends suggested he use condoms for his knee pain.
"My friend told me about the condoms but I did not believe him. Then, one day, I tried it because he was always telling me how he felt better. I could not believe it when I no longer felt pain,†he said.
A 28-year-old man from Barberton said he was so frustrated when his condoms kept disappearing, and eventually caught his grandmother taking them.
"I buy condoms and also get the free government condoms, but they kept going missing. My sisters promised me they weren't taking them.
"Then, one day when I had to return home because I'd left my wallet behind, I caught my gran leaving my room with the condoms in her hands,†he says.
"I asked her what she was doing and she told me she rubbed them on her knees when she experienced pain. She said she was too shy to go get her own condoms from the clinic.â€
A general practitioner at the Siyanqoba Medical Centre, Dr Eric Khumalo, who specialises in treating patients with TB and HIV, has urged the elderly not to take the condoms because it's important that they are available for people who are sexually active.
"Clinics, private clinics and hospitals will be left out of stock,†he warned.
He believes the pensioners are finding relief because of the massage action.
He suggested they opt for affordable lubricants that are available to help ease joint pain.
The condoms have become so popular amongst pensioners that Mpumalanga health and social development MEC Candith Mashego-Dlamini has had to appeal to the pensioners to stop taking them.
"I heard that gogos are taking condoms from the clinics non-stop, believing the jelly from the condoms are healing their knees,†she said at an "Outreach Towards 20 Years of Freedom†event held at Lundanda Primary School in Mahushu near Hazyview in December.
"We have sent the condoms to a laboratory to check if they heal your knees or not. If the results prove that they work, we will put the gel in small containers for you and make an announcement on radio,†she said.
One 69-year-old woman from Mahushu, near Hazyview, who asked not to be named, said the condoms help ease the pain in her knees by providing a healing warmth.
"I was experiencing pain everyday until my daughter called me three months ago to suggest that I should try rubbing the jelly from condoms on my knees. Since then, the pain is better,†said the pensioner. "I can now sleep peacefully.â€
In Kanyamazane, outside Mbombela, a 71-year-old man says one of his friends suggested he use condoms for his knee pain.
"My friend told me about the condoms but I did not believe him. Then, one day, I tried it because he was always telling me how he felt better. I could not believe it when I no longer felt pain,†he said.
A 28-year-old man from Barberton said he was so frustrated when his condoms kept disappearing, and eventually caught his grandmother taking them.
"I buy condoms and also get the free government condoms, but they kept going missing. My sisters promised me they weren't taking them.
"Then, one day when I had to return home because I'd left my wallet behind, I caught my gran leaving my room with the condoms in her hands,†he says.
"I asked her what she was doing and she told me she rubbed them on her knees when she experienced pain. She said she was too shy to go get her own condoms from the clinic.â€
A general practitioner at the Siyanqoba Medical Centre, Dr Eric Khumalo, who specialises in treating patients with TB and HIV, has urged the elderly not to take the condoms because it's important that they are available for people who are sexually active.
"Clinics, private clinics and hospitals will be left out of stock,†he warned.
He believes the pensioners are finding relief because of the massage action.
He suggested they opt for affordable lubricants that are available to help ease joint pain.
Source - News24
