NCIC
Issue 1
May 2012
Dr. Priya Laloo
Primary Care Physician
M.B.B.S, Diploma in Family Medicine
Needless to say, there’s a lot of diabetes information out there. Unfortunately, not all of it is based on facts. Following bad advice could actually
harm a person with diabetes. Fellow diabetics and too often our very
own family members and friends can dispense information that is incorrect or misleading without even knowing it! These have become the source
of many myths and misconceptions of this condition and have led many
astray regarding proper care and management of the disease resulting
in greater complications in the long term.
Myth 6: You can catch diabetes from someone else.
In the following offering I will attempt to attack some of the most common
misconstrued notions about diabetes while at the same time explaining
the truths. So let’s see which of these common theories about diabetes are
true and which are false.
Myth 7: People with diabetes are more likely to get colds and other
illnesses.
Truth: No. Although there are still many unanswered questions about
diabetes, we do know that diabetes is NOT contagious. It cannot be
caught like a cold or flu.
Evidence suggests some genetic link in diabetes type 2 especially. Lifestyle factors like diet, weight control and lack of exercise also play a
part.
Truth: You are no more likely to get a cold or another illness if you have
diabetes. That said however, it is recommended that diabetics get flu
shots since they are more susceptible to developing serious complications.
Myth 1: Diabetes is not that serious.
Myth 8: If you have type 2 diabetes and your doctor says you need to
start using insulin, it means you are going to die.
Truth: In Trinidad and Tobago, 1 in 8 people are diabetic with East Indians and women being at higher risk. Diabetes causes more deaths than
breast cancer and AIDS combined each year. Two out of three people
with diabetes reading this article will die from heart disease or stroke.
Diabetes is also the number one cause of adult blindness, leg and foot
amputations and need for renal dialysis.
Truth: Contrary to popular belief, insulin injections do not mean it is the
beginning of the end neither does it mean your condition is beyond help.
Insulin injections are merely a means of delivering the necessary insulin
when oral medications cannot maintain a healthy blood glucose level. In
fact most patients using insulin tend to achieve better blood glucose control. Using insulin to get blood glucose levels to a healthy level is a good
thing, not a bad one.
Myth 2: If you are overweight or obese, you WILL develop type 2 diabetes.
Truth: One form of diabetes is called juvenile diabetes or Type 1. This is
a genetically hereditary condition where the body does not produce the
hormone insulin or rejects the hormone insulin it produces. Since this is a
genetic disease, weight has no influence in developing diabetes.
Myth 9: Insulin shots hurt a lot.
Truth: The pen needles and syringes available today cause virtually little
or no discomfort. It’s a far cry from the old memories of painful penicillin,
tetanus, or flu shots!
Being overweight is only one of the risk factors for developing Diabetes.
Other risk factors include family history, ethnicity and age. Most overweight people never develop type 2 diabetes, and many people with
type 2 diabetes are at a normal wei