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Tribune News Network
Doha
The National Diabetes Center at Al Wakra Hospital recently hosted workshops to educate diabetes patients about fasting during the Holy Month.
With sessions in both English and Arabic, the workshops covered a variety of topics relating to fasting with diabetes, including the importance of not making changes to medication regimes without medical supervision, the potential complications of fasting with diabetes, and steps to take in the case of diabetic emergencies, such as low or high blood sugar.
While most patients with Type 2 diabetes are able to fast without complications, it is necessary for diabetics who take medication to consult with their healthcare team to ensure they are taking the necessary precautions.
Al Wakra Hospital Diabetes Educator and lead organiser for the event Ragae Dughmosh said many diabetics are able to safely fast and avoid serious health complications.
"The purpose of the workshops was to explain how to fast safely with diabetes and how to avoid complications we often see with diabetic patients who are fasting. Our aim was to help reduce the number of patients we see each year who visit our clinics during, or after, Ramadan due to complications they experience while fasting. The workshop also highlighted, and corrected, common misconceptions patients have about fasting with diabetes," said Dughmosh.
The workshops were led by Senior Diabetes and Endocrinology Consultant Dr Khaled Dukhan and four diabetes educators from the National Diabetes Center at Al Wakra Hospital. They were open to all patients of the Center as well as those who registered after seeing posters promoting the sessions. In addition to highlighting categories of patients who can and cannot safely fast, topics of discussion included recommended precautions for diabetic patients who planned to fast and general nutrition and exercise guidelines.
"We tried to provide attendees with a lot of practical tips associated with fasting. For example, exercise can be an important part of keeping the body and mind healthy during Ramadan but its timing is an important part of managing diabetes. The best time to exercise is two hours after breakfast. Exercising before iftar should be avoided. We also remind patients about the importance of checking their blood sugar frequently during both fasting and non-fasting hours," added Dughmosh.
The workshops concluded with a fun and friendly competition between patients who attended the sessions, with two mobile phones and blood glucose meters being awarded as prizes.
