BODY AND MINDTheIndianEXPRESSPUNENewsline I WEDNESDAY I NOVEMBER 17 I 2010

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INDIAhas the highestpopulation of people liv-ing with diabetes in the

world, with more than 50 mil-lion people in the country suf-fering from it. The disease it-self is quite hindering, but theside-effects of it are evenworse. Foot problems occurin people with diabetes melli-tus and can quickly become

serious. The development offoot problems is not an in-evitable consequence of hav-ing diabetes, as most foot le-sions are preventable.“However, recent statisticsare somewhat depressing: ap-proximately a quarter of all di-abetics will, at some point intheir life, develop sores orbreaks (ulcers) in the skin oftheir feet,” says Dr AbhijitJoshi, Orthopaedic surgeon,

Jehangir Hospital. “When diabetes is not well

controlled, the body's organsand immune system suffer. Itmay cause nerve damage thattakes away the feeling in yourfeet. Moreover,this disease mayalso reduce bloodflow to the feet,making it harder toheal an injury or re-sist infection lead-ing to abscess for-mation,” he pointsout.

Due to the damage to theblood vessels and the nerves ofthe foot, the foot is susceptibleto formation of abscess and in-fection and bacteria and fungithrive in an environment

which is high in sugar.This can cause the toesand in many cases part,or the whole foot to beamputated if quickand correct treatmentis not taken.

When the nervesof the feet are dam-aged, the sensationof the foot is de-

creased and the normalstructure of the foot startsto change and it gets de-formed. This decreasedsensation also leads to in-fected cuts and bruises go-ing unnoticed as the sensa-tion of pain is nearly absent,leading to fatal complica-tions. Inadequate patient

education in self care leadsto problems which, undernormal circumstances, canbe averted.

Don'ts.Tobacco in any form is to be avoided.Wear tight fitting shoes/ footwear.Burst blistersPoke down edges ofnails with scissors for ingrown toe nails.Go bare feet even at home.Ignore swelling and redness on feetespecially after trivial trauma

Do's.Examine feet daily es-pecially between toes forredness cuts and bruises.Wash feet daily andDRY thoroughly especiallybetween toes.After washing applymoisturising cream.Wear cotton socks.Cut nails carefully. Cutthem straight across andfile the edges. .Get feet examinedyearly

Unsure footingThough development of foot problems is notan inevitable consequence of having diabetes,

upto a quarter of the patients do suffer from it, say doctors

HEALTH CORNER

Blood donation camps to be held

THE city will see blood donations camps being set up in fourplaces over the course of five days, from November 17 to 21.On November 17, the camp will be held at Sahyadri Hospital,Bibwewadi. On November 18, a camp will be set up at PrernaHigh School, Kalewadi and Shivaji Vidya Mandir, Chakan. OnNovember 19, another blood donation camp will be set up atShubham Complex, near Railway station, Talegaon.

World Diabetes DaycelebratedON the occasion of World Dia-betics Day on November 14, acycle rally and walkathon wasorganised in the city. The rally,which went from Jehangir hos-pital to Shaniwarwada saw many firsts. For example, Shani-warwada was lit up in blue as a part of the International Dia-betes Federation theme, blue being the colour of diabetesawareness worldwide.

Cervical Cancer Screening arrangedGYNECOLOGICAL Society (POGS) arranged "POGS CervicalCancer Screening Week" from 8th to 13th November 2010.More than 30 hospitals, both Governmental and private, andnursing homes participated in this program. During this week,patients were screened with a new test called VIA(Visual In-spection of Cervix with Acetic Acid), free of charge. On 13thNovember 2010, they also organised a public awareness pro-gram in Kelkar Hall. Well known doctors spoke on topics re-lated to cervical cancer, breast cancer and ways to diagnose itearly.