Doha

Hamad General Hospital (HGH) and Al Wakra Hospital (AWH) recently launched a series of lectures for raising public awareness of diabetes mellitus and specifically safe fasting during the holy month of Ramadan.

The lectures, presented in both Arabic and English, focused on providing patients with diabetes expert advice about precautions to observe while fasting and how to ensure safe medication intake during Ramadan.

The inaugural lecture was presented at AWH recently. Similar lectures will be held every Wednesday throughout this month. The two-hour lectures are led by 4 health educators and 3 senior consultant endocrinologists. A number of patients aged between 30 and 70 years attended the sessions.

“This series demonstrates HMC’s commitment to providing the safest, most effective and most compassionate care to patients. The lectures are aimed at educating diabetics on how to fast safely and avoid any health complications,” said Dr. Ibrahim al-Tereky, senior consultant Endocrinology/Diabetes and head of the National Diabetes Centre at AWH. “Delivering such health awareness activities prior to the holy month of Ramadan can significantly decrease the number of cases with diabetic complications.”

Dr. al-Tereky advised individuals with type 1 diabetes, especially those with cardiac and kidney conditions, as well as pregnant women with diabetes, not to fast. He explained that this category of patients is at high risk of developing severe complications if they fast.

He said type 2 diabetics can fast while taking some special precautions, such as consulting their physicians before the start of Ramadan to learn how to maintain healthy blood sugar levels and to review their medication regimen, including doses and their medication schedule.

Al-Tereky also stressed the importance of monitoring blood glucose levels regularly during the fast by making several blood checks a day, especially in the first days of Ramadan. He advised patients to avoid sleeping during the last hours before Iftar. He warned patients against doing physical exercises during fasting hours and suggested delaying exercises until night time to avoid hypoglycemia.

Manal al-Musallam, director of Diabetes Education at HGH’s National Diabetes Centre, said the centre is delivering the series of awareness lectures to discuss healthy fasting practices for diabetics and to dispel common misconceptions many people have about fasting. The first lecture at HGH’s National Diabetes Centre was held on 19 May and was led by a team consisting of a diabetologist, a health educator and a dietitian.Further lectures are scheduled for every Tuesday until the beginning of Ramadan.