Diabetes check-up during Ramadan stressed

Screening for diabetes, which is a common disease that begins with few symptoms, during Ramadan makes a perfect sense, a diabetes expert has said.
“As the number of people suffering with diabetes increases at an alarming rate, it is crucial to catch it in its earliest stages and that’s where screening comes in, Dr Mahmoud Zirie, head of HMC’s endocrinology diabetes division, said, Gulf Times Reported. He explained that diabetes screening tests were a good preventative method for catching the development of the disease at an early stage.
“In order to have a diabetes screening test a person needs to have a fasting blood glucose test done, meaning that they should not eat or drink anything except water between eight to 10 hours before. During the rest of the year, this can put people off, but during Ramadan people are naturally following this requirement,” he said, adding: “That’s why we are encouraging people to make this the time of the year when they get this important, potentially life protecting test done.
Dr Zirie said that an overwhelming number of diabetes cases can be prevented or delayed by lifestyle or medical intervention in people detected with pre-diabetes. “Pre-diabetes is when a person’s blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be type 2 diabetes. People with pre-diabetes are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes and may have some problems from diabetes already. However, if you have pre-diabetes it does not definitely mean you will develop type-2 diabetes.
For some people with pre-diabetes, early treatment can actually return blood glucose levels to the normal range,” he explained. According to the doctor, the test is quick and painless. “Just a prick of the finger; your blood is then measured for the amount of a sugar called glucose present.
There are certain levels that are considered normal for a fasting blood glucose test. Persons with higher levels of glucose have impaired fasting glucose, a type of pre-diabetes. These levels are considered risk factors for type 2 diabetes and its complications. Higher-than-normal blood glucose levels may be a sign of diabetes,” he said.
While maintaining that everyone should get tested, he said: “It is very common that people have no physical complaints and once screened, they are revealed to be either pre-diabetic or even diabetic. That’s why it’s so important to screen yourself and your family for rising blood sugars on a regular basis – even if you eat healthy and exercise regularly.”