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The hidden side of diabetes: Social stigma, isolation, uncertain future

Patients don’t want friends to know of condition

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Diabetes patients complain of facing social stigma even today while consulting doctors and undergoing treatment, with unmarried youngsters complaining of especially tough social complications.

At a Goregaon-based diabetic centre, the receptionist had to call the patient by the mother's name, because the unmarried youngsters don't want to be identified as diabetes patients.

Diabetologist Dr Pradeep Gadge said, "A mother of a 24-year-old girl visits my clinic for consultation. The daughter has never visited the clinic because they don't want someone from their relatives or friends to identify her as a diabetes patient. They haven't even informed the father that his daughter was diagnosed with diabetes. Being identified as a diabetes patient is a big social challenge for them."

"Even youngsters and children who have to maintain their eating habits and monitor their physical strength can feel frustrated from time to time. They think they are being isolated, with other children and youngsters not associating with them," he added.

A study conducted in Mumbai's major civic-run hospitals this year reported that psychiatric disorders, diabetes and hypertension are among the top three ailments for which patients visit civic-run hospitals like KEM, Sion Hospital, Nair Hospital and Cooper Hospital. The study said 1.34 lakh diabetes patients visited these four hospitals between October 2015 and September 2017.

Dr Ajay Dudani, ophthalmologist and vitreoretinal surgeon at Bombay Hospital, said patients who have been diagnosed with diabetes many years ago should get their eyesight checked annually. He said timely annual check-ups and maintaining sugar levels in the body will help keep the eyesight healthy.

"Diabetic patients older than 40 show signs of diabetic retinopathy. "It's the most common cause of vision loss in diabetic patients. If the patient shows sudden changes in vision, they should consult a doctor immediately," Dr Dudani said.

"If patients poorly control their Type-1 or Type-2 diabetes, it can cause retinal detachment. They might even lose vision completely."

DIABETIC FEARS

Youngsters who maintain their eating habits and monitor physical strength can feel frustrated from time to time. They think they’re being isolated by friends and other children

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