By Spokesman Newsroom
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (Tuesday 15th November 2022)- Peeing more often than usual, increased thirst, losing weight despite not actively trying to lose weight, blurred vision, infection that do not heal well and in particular women can get vaginal yeast attacks frequently.
These are some of the things that might be symptoms of diabetes mellitus according to internist Dr. Caroline Lawrence who shared such details during her appearance on the ‘Health Wise’ programme aired live on ZIZ radio and television on Monday 14th November 2022 in observance of World Diabetes Day, hosted by the St.
Kitts Diabetes Association. Programme host and Public Relations Officer Reginald O’Loughlin gave an estimate of individual living with the medical condition in St. Kitts.“We from our statistics that is the St. Kitts Diabetes Association has been compiling, we have recognised and realized that that we are looking at probably in excess of 3,000 persons living with diabetes here in St.
Kitts.” He pointed out that the Nevis arm has managed their own affairs as it relates to diabetes whilst noting “so we have a St. Kitts Diabetes Association and our estimate is that we are looking in excess of 3,000 persons with this medical condition. …we look at those who attend the clinics because those number are easier to get in the government clinics.
The last time I had access to the numbers from 2020 I think it was, there was 1700 registered at the 12 government health centres in St. Kitts but quite a number of persons do not [attend] the government clinics; more specifically the men tend to for whatever reason…” Dr.
Lawrence highlighted what the medical condition is. “Diabetes mellitus is that circumstance [of a] physical situation where the persons is unable to control their blood sugar (blood glucose). So yes, we eat the sugar in whatever version and drink it in whatever versions, and what is supposed to happen is that our body produces insulin to control the amount of sugar that enters the blood stream to bring the sugar down absorbing it and removing it from the blood stream.
Diabetes is where that individual… child, woman , man is unable to control their own blood sugar…they don’t produce enough insulin or they don’t produce any insulin or they have insulin but it is just not effective , the end result is sugar remains in the bloodstream and high blood sugar is diabetes mellitus that’s the one that can attack organs.” Furthermore, she provided details about the check-ups for diabetes. “There are two sugar readings and there is another one. we like to look at a person’s fasting blood sugar… which is the sugar in the blood stream before they eat anything or drink anything at all and the fasting blood sugar and the normal blood sugar should be between 60 to 110, and the other time that we check a sugar reading …could be two hours after a meal or it could be random any time after two hours and that blood sugar reading should be 140, 160 milligrams per deciliter.
Those we can use to diagnose diabetes if they are higher than that but most accurately to diagnose diabetes there is a test called HbA1c. Dr. Lawrence said such HbA1c test looks at four month’s management. “…how has your body been managing your blood sugar for four months because sometimes we say we’re going to do the – LOCAL NEWS – 7 fasting blood sugar or two hours, people can cheat.
They know that they are going to the blood testing tomorrow so they live the pristine life the day before such that the following day their sugar is superb and of course they weren’t living that way all the time… so the benefits of the A1c is really to get the best reflection of how this person really has been living and that is to be less than 5.7 % and diagnosis of diabetes is when that A1c is more than 6.5% so that are the figures… fasting 60 to 110 and random 140 and then the A1c should be less than 5.7 and for diagnosis it should be 6.5% or higher.” Front Banner Photo: An image used for illustration purposes only shows a patient getting a blood glucose test (credit: rush.edu)
