‘Regular checkup can avert diabetes’ 

General manager, Diabetes Care Unit, ISN, Ifeyinwa Chioke has called on Nigerians to imbibe the culture of regular check up for early detection of common diseases such as diabetes.
 
Adding that government should support diabetic patients, she said the cost of treatment is very expensive considering some necessities for survival like strips, glucose metre and drugs.
  
Marking the 2018 World Diabetes Day with theme “The Family and Diabetes”, Chioke noted that the event which featured blood sugar screening is germane because many people do not know they are diabetic. “Government can help cushion the cost of managing the disease by providing a health scheme that includes giving free strips to patients and subsidising their drugs. Nigerians generally have this culture of seeing the doctor only when we are sick and that is why some people only detect the disease when they have complications. With the screening today, we are creating awareness and helping people detect early for proper care and advice,” she added.
   
Chioke advised women to be wary of gestational diabetes as causes more harm to the mother and child if not detected early and properly managed. On the major causes of the disease, she said food and lifestyle contribute largely to the prevalence of diabetes aside the fact that it can only be managed and not cured.
 
“We have noticed over time that diabetes patients are usually not given the right support from family members but this is essential to the patients’ outcome. Although the rate of people living with the disease now is four times more than 20 years ago, sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy diet, and some genetic makeup predisposes people to diabetes,” she added.