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Diabetic patients need to take control of their lives

Sep 02, 2014 News

The healing of ingrown toenails, foot ulcers, deformities and other diabetic foot conditions, are 90 percent dependent on lifestyle changes of patients and care from family members, says Dr. Kumar Sukhraj, Head of the Diabetic Foot Clinic.

On a daily basis, about 35 patients visit the clinic, situated in the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, with varying complications.

During this period, patients are exposed to treatment and the clinic’s multi-disciplinary approaches of counseling and education on exercise, diet and lifestyle change.

However, managing and monitoring diabetes is a fulltime job that needs special dedication. According to Dr. Sukhraj, patients and family members need to have the will to overcome the complications that come with diabetes.

Patients need to ensure they take their medications on time; monitor their blood glucose level; accept the inevitable lifestyle change; and monitor their stress level. Family members need to be supportive of the new lifestyle and help them engage in activities to reduce stress, he added.

Dr. Sukhraj advised that acceptance is important for persons to overcome the challenges related to diabetes. This allows the individual to adequately deal with their problems and rise above the situation. The will to live and strength to fight this lifelong illness are essential for a long life with little or no complications.

However, regardless of how careful a patient may be, the danger of having a diabetic foot condition lingers and foot ulcers are common. He related that 90 percent of persons who visit the clinic for treatment are healed once they monitor themselves properly. Meanwhile, about five to eight percent of patients experience recurrences or new wounds.

According to Dr. Sukhraj, having new wounds is likely and is another challenge patients have to deal with. In such cases, the clinic reinforces its educational classes and increases its counseling session since this may be disheartening.

Where the patient experiences a recurrence, the clinic takes a team effort approach. “We come together as a team to discuss the issue to determine if further interventions are needed,” he added.

According to Dr. Sukhraj, recurrences put a burden on the clinic’s limited resources. And, therefore patients need to take better care of their health.

Another aspect of the clinic’s operations is screening. As a diabetic, lifelong screening is needed to effectively control the disease and reduce foot complications. The clinic does not operate in isolation. Through referrals from the clinic, doctors and nurses at health centres help to dress wounds.

Dr. Sukhraj emphasized that this collaboration is important since it eases the stress of patients travelling to Georgetown to dress their wounds. In addition, the waiting period at the health centre would be shorter than at the clinic on any given day.

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