Health

The diabetes symptoms you never suspected were side effects of the disease

Not every case of type 2 diabetes symptoms presents the obvious—unquenchable thirst, nonstop bathroom trips, and numbness in your hands or feet. Look out for these other subtle signs that something may be amiss with your blood sugar:  

1. You've noticed unpleasant skin changes Dark, velvety patches in the folds of skin, usually on the back of the neck, elbows, or knuckles, are often an early warning sign of too-high blood sugar levels and diabetes symptoms. Although genetics or hormonal conditions can cause the skin disorder, called acanthosis nigricans, "when I notice the patches, the first thing I do is test my patient's blood sugar," says Sanjiv Saini, MD, a dermatologist in Edgewater, Maryland. "High insulin levels promote the growth of skin cells, and melanin, a pigment in these cells, makes the patches dark." The test may show that the patient already has diabetes, but, more likely, it will detect higher-than-normal blood sugar levels, suggesting the patient is on the way to developing the disease, explains Saini. Losing weight—as little as 10 pounds—will likely lower blood sugar levels and help the condition clear up. Otherwise, he says a dermatologist can treat it with laser therapy or topical retina A.

2. Your vision improved out of nowhere
Sorry, suddenly being able to ditch your glasses probably isn't good news: "You'll often read that blurry vision is as a diabetes symptom when, in fact, vision can change for better or worse," says Howard Baum, MD, an assistant professor of medicine in the diabetes division at Vanderbilt University. "I've had patients tell me that their vision has improved when their blood sugars were elevated, and then after they start treating their diabetes, they needed their glasses again." What gives? Diabetes causes fluid levels in the body to shift around, including inside your eyes, which leads to the erratic eyesight.

3. You have unrelenting itchiness
Think it's silly to mention scratchy skin to your doctor? Not so. Diabetes impairs blood circulation, which can lead to dryness and itchiness. "Some of my newly diagnosed diabetes patients mention they're itchy on their extremities—the hands, lower legs, and feet—so it's something doctors should consider in conjunction with other diabetes symptoms," says Baum. If regular use of a moisturizer doesn't fix the itch, bring it up at your next appointment.

4. Your hearing isn't what it used to be
If you find yourself cranking the volume on the TV or you can't get through a conversation without asking people to repeat themselves, tell your doctor you need a blood sugar test. One study by the National Institute of Health suggested hearing loss could be an early diabetes symptom: People with higher than normal blood sugar who didn't yet meet the criteria for diabetes were 30% more likely to have hearing damage than those with healthy glucose levels. The researchers believe that diabetes damages the blood vessels and nerves of the inner ear, leading to sub-par hearing.

5. You snore like a chainsaw
"About half of type 2 diabetics have sleep-disordered breathing, So if you're diagnosed with the condition—characterized by loud snoring and daytime sleepiness—it's a good bet to get your blood sugar levels checked, too. One recent Canadian study showed that 23% of patients diagnosed with mild or moderate obstructive sleep apnea, a common sleep disorder, went on to develop diabetes within 5½ years. The connection isn't completely understood, but there's one important link between the two: Patients with sleep-disordered breathing tend to release stress hormones during sleep, which can raise blood sugar levels.

prevention.com

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Elangwe Pauline

15.Apr.2016

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Limbe-Cameroon - Julianna Senze, 40, had been in heavy labour for eight hours when she arrived at the Idenau Health Centre in Limbe, on the southwest coast of Cameroon.

Like many women in the country, she had had no prenatal care, so what should have been a routine delivery was now a high-risk medical procedure. The nurses, looking worn and tired, rushed her to the delivery room.

"We had to get her here quickly from Batoke village, some eight kilometres away, after receiving an SMS message from the doctor on duty," said her husband, his voice strained with worry. Less than an hour later, Senze safely delivered a healthy baby boy.

Only a few years ago, Senze's story could have had a more tragic ending.

Cameroon has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. More than 7,000 women die due to pregnancy-related causes and 58,000 children under the age of 5 lose their lives every year in Cameroon, according to the United Nations Population Fund in Cameroon.

Most of them live in rural parts of the country, where health services are weakest.

But a combination of solar energy and a new mobile phone platform, which gives women access to important health information, is changing that.

New renewable energy projects are giving more people the electricity they need to access health information, and giving hospitals power to deliver essential care, experts say.

The message that may have saved Senze's life was sent using Gifted Mom, a mobile platform founded by Cameroon engineer Alain Nteff in 2012.

The text-messaging service and app gives women in out-of-the-way rural communities free health advice, sending reminders about prenatal check-ups and children's vaccinations. It tells users when and where to get the treatment they need, and gives them access to doctors who can answer health-related questions.

According to Nteff, Gifted Mom is now used in all 10 regions of the country.

"The project expects to help reduce the number of Cameroonian women who die during childbirth and the number of babies who die at birth by at least 70 percent by 2020," said Nteff, talking to the press in Yaounde.

But Gifted Mom's success would be impossible if it weren't for the other projects tackling another issue that blights the lives of those living in rural Cameroon: lack of electricity.

 

SOLAR AND WIND STEP IN

According to the World Bank, nearly 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa - most of them in rural areas where poverty is high - still lack access to energy, and electrification is barely keeping pace with population growth.

Limbe, a big coastal town in southwest Cameroon, runs on hydroelectricity provided by ENEO, the country's lone energy provider. But even residents connected to the grid can't rely on having electricity when they need it.

Prolonged droughts have caused a severe drop in the water levels of the Sanaga river, which feeds the area's hydropower plant, resulting in crippling power outages.

"We suffer from persistent blackouts  on a daily basis," said Motanga Andrew, the government delegate to the Limbe city council.

In Idenau and Batoke, two fishing villages about 12 kilometres from Limbe city, there are pretty beaches and vast tracts of unspoiled mangrove forests that bring in the tourists.

But, until recently, the communities couldn't access enough power to meet the most basic needs of running their businesses and health services.

The recent arrival of solar power, however, is already improving the lives, health experts say.

In 2015, a renewable-energy expert from Canada began using homemade wind turbines and solar panels to build a network of renewable energy electrical stations to supply power to homes and medical clinics in the area.

The networks are also used to charge motorcycle batteries, which residents take home to power their lights and charge their cell phones, which they can then use to conduct business and access health information.

Also last year, the African Resource Group Cameroon (ARG-CAM), in collaboration with the Limbe city council, built mini-electrical grids to provide light, cooking energy and phone-charging stations to the people of Limbe, Idenau, and Batoke.

According to the non-governmental group's director general, Edmond Linonge Njoh, the initiative, funded by the African Union's New Partnership for Africa's Development, aims to reduce the fishing communities' dependence on fuel wood and kerosene, both of which come with significant health risks.

"The coming of alternative and cheaper energy to our council area is a welcome relief," said the government delegate to Limbe.

In Idenau, storekeeper Njombe Ikome said the provision of solar energy to the community has changed the lives of people there.

"Our children can now do their homework at night and they are doing well in school," he said. "Idenau is a business community and so the use of cell phones for communication with business partners is very important."

According to Rose Agbor, assistant warden of the Idenau Health Centre, the facility used to help fewer than 15 pregnant women and nursing mothers each day.

Now, with solar energy providing a reliable electricity supply and the Gifted Mom platform raising awareness of the availability of prenatal care, the centre sees over 50 patients daily.

Reuters

 

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Elangwe Pauline

14.Apr.2016

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A prime ministerial decree today Tuesday 12.04.2016 has sacked Dissongo Jean II as Director of Laquintini Hospital. He has been replaced by Louis Richard Njock, former Director Edea annex hospital.

 

The dismissal of Dissongo comes excatly one month since a woman Mounique KOUMATEKE and her babies died under unclear circumstances.The case is seen as the last straw on the camels back,following series of scandals that have rocked the lanquintini hospital.

The government had been under pressure to dismiss the laquintini director following negligence on the part of hospital personnel.Hundreds had gathered on Sunday March 13 2016  infront of the hospital to demand justice to take its course.

Dissongo Jean II is the second director to suffer dismissal, the first was the director of the Mbanga district hospital, where a 26 year old lady died on April 1st with her unborn baby,due to negligence

 

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Prince Nfor Hanson

12.Apr.2016

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A prime ministerial decree today Tuesday 12.04.2016 has sacked Dissongo Jean II as Director of Laquintini Hospital. He has been replaced by Louis Richard Njock, former Director Edea annex hospital.

 

The dismissal of Dissongo comes excatly one month since a woman Mounique KOUMATEKE and her babies died under unclear circumstances.The case is seen as the last straw on the camels back,following series of scandals that have rocked the lanquintini hospital.

The government had been under pressure to dismiss the laquintini director following negligence on the part of hospital personnel.Hundreds had gathered on Sunday March 13 2016  infront of the hospital to demand justice to take its course.

Dissongo Jean II is the second director to suffer dismissal, the first was the director of the Mbanga district hospital, where a 26 year old lady died on April 1st with her unborn baby,due to negligence

 

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Prince Nfor Hanson

12.Apr.2016

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The Bamenda-based Regional Hospital appears to offer the difference in discipline that inspires hope for patients. Conspicuously posted on the walls on the entire hospital are some 400 warning messages which request patients to report hospital staff who  refuse to  be of service .

The messages which were conceived and posted long before recent instructions by the Minister of Public Health on best practices, carry the telephone number of the Director of the hospital, Dr Kinge Thompson Njie. That may not be a comprehensive insurance for a professional approach towards work at the health facility because on the streets, some people continue to complain about attitudes that frustrate at the Regional hospital and maternity. But, on-the-spot, Cameroon Tribune gathered from Dr Kinge Thompson that it is a tradition at the hospital to tolerate arrogant patients but not arrogant staff.

In the Maternity Unit which registers an average 320 births or deliveries monthly, the Head of the Labour Room, Ngum Jesse Kheng showcases 27 years of personal experience, sangfroid and dedication to serve that inspires hope for pregnant women who are fortunate to be served by him and other midwives who excel in ethical and moral approaches. The Unit has 12 Midwives and Nurses with facilities that can handle five deliveries at the same time. Ngum Jesse Kheng says they are committed to ensure that all pregnant women who enter the labour room should retire alive with their babies.

He acknowledges conflict zones and says it often requires sangfroid to serve patients who are arrogant or not polite. The Director of the Regional hospital, Dr Kinge Thompson  is categorical when he told Cameroon Tribune that management does not condone excuses from arrogant staff because the patients  is in the hospital for solutions and it is important to work from the premise that a patient is never wrong. The Maternity is however, not free from deaths which are easily blamed on post partum and hemorrhoid or bleeding after delivery or in between delivery and eclampsia.

About instructions from the Public Health Minister on receiving and handling of patients, Dr Kinge Thompson told CT that execution is on course with an IT Engineer already contacted to plant cameras at emergency areas like the Labour room, casualty and out patient consultations. The measure according to the Director is to enhance security and quality care but, not to scare or police staff. He said the measure will help matters to reduce waiting time for information on which the administration needs to act. It is against this backdrop that the Director has been prescribing a culture of duty consciousness, confidence and pride in staff as live savers who must avoid being seen as eye servants.

Come what may, the 60 year old Bamenda regional hospital has outlived its capacity. Initially built to serve barely 30.000 in 1956, it serves a population of over 700.000 inhabitants of Bamenda and neighborhoods today. It does not help matters for many who deliver are must retire home after barely 24 hours to give others a chance in the very few Wards. The solution could be in the expressed need for a modern day, mother and child center with a 200 bed capacity for mothers and 100 beds for Nursery and pediatrics.

 

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Elangwe Pauline

09.Apr.2016

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On a global level, 422 million people are today affected by diabetes. That’s nearly four times the number affected 30 years ago. In Africa, middle-income countries are those most affected.

“If you tell a 50-year-old person you have to stop putting so much sugar in your tea, that's very difficult," Matthias Arnold explained. He is a PhD candidate at the Institute for Health Economy and Management at the University of Munich. Diabetes, the chronic disease in which the body is not able to regulate its own blood sugar levels, still only affects small percentage of people in Africa, but the numbers are growing.

Accoridng to the World Health Organization diabetes is expected to be the seventh biggest global cause of death worldwide by 2030. And that although the disease is largely preventable through healthier diets and more physical activity. Once diabetes is diagnosed, it must be managed well – a stricter diet, medication or twice daily insulin shots to regulate the blood sugar. If left untreated, it can be the cause of kidney failure, heart attack or blindness.

Arnold was himself diagnosed with diabetes Type 1 at a very early age - Type 1 is the more rare type of diabetes, that affects less than 90 percent of diabetics and is not caused by obesity or lifestyle. "It's easier if you have that at a young age. But when you have done something all your life, and then your doctor tells you, you have to cut down on your sugar, your carbohydrates and eat more vegetables, that's difficult."

Government strategies

While African countries still lie on the low end of the diabetes spectrum , in middle-income countries like Kenya are experiencing a rise in non-communicable diseases like diabetes. "A lot can be attributed to our detection rates getting higher, but obesity is higher and issues to do with alcohol, poor diet and tobacco add to the risk," Dr. Kibachio Joseph Mwangi, who heads the non-communicable diseases division at Kenya's Ministry of Health told DW. According to WHO data, over 2,650 Kenyans between the ages of 25 to 69 die of diabetes each year.

In 2011, Kenya signed the Global Action Plan on non-communicable diseases, which include cancer, heart disease and diabetes, and has set up a strategy to reverse the rise in these diseases. Prevention of the diseases, health promotion and training health personnel are all on the agenda. According to Mwangi, the cost of the treatment has also been addressed: "Insulin used to be quite expensive but the price has stabilized. That has been done with partnerships with the pharma-industry."

The cost of treatment is however still a major burden for those affected with diabetes. The cost for 25 days of treatment is about 1,500 Kenyan Shillings ($14, 80 or 13 euros), which as Jamillah Mwanjisi from the NGO Help Age, points out is too expensive for many Kenyans. The NGO campaigns for the rights and support of the elderly, who in Kenya rarely have a pension or health insurance. "For older people it is almost impossible to pay because most of them have no access to any sort of income." Additionally, the accessibility and costs of getting to a health center that has the available treatment add to the difficulty of those affected.

Wider screening needed

According to Mwanjisi, the level of awareness for diabetes is still very low in Kenya. "Many health facilities do not immediately think and test for diabetes – but instead test for malaria and other common diseases," she said. In an ideal situation, there would be country wide screening, so that people know their blood sugar levels and whether they are at risk.

According to Mwanjisi, the growing urban population is more affected than those in rural areas. "You sit in the office, you use motorized transport, once at home you sit and watch TV," she said. "I think realization that fitness and dietary requirements are actually good for your health are only starting arise now as the population is ageing," Arnold added.

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Elangwe Pauline

08.Apr.2016

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