Al Wakra Hospital holds workshops for diabetics

The National Diabetes Center at Al Wakra Hospital hosted workshops for patients planning to fast during Ramadan.
With sessions in English and Arabic, the workshops covered a variety of topics related
to fasting with diabetes.
Among them were 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.
“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 experienced while fasting. The workshop also highlighted, and corrected, common misconceptions patients have about fasting with diabetes,” said Dughmosh, diabetes educator at Al Wakra Hospital and lead organiser for the event.
The workshops were led by Dr Khaled Dukhan, senior consultant, diabetes and endocrinology and four diabetes educators from the National Diabetes Center at Al Wakra Hospital, and were open to all patients of the centre as well as those who registered for 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.
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.