‘Don’t put your health on the back burner’

PRESIDENT of the Diabetes Association of Barbados, Trudy Griffith, is urging persons living with diabetes not to put their health on the back burner during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Within the context of COVID-19, Griffith said while there has been a link made between adverse outcomes and persons who have diabetes, the “uncontrolled” element has been lost.

In fact, she said greater effort must be made to ensure that their diabetes is under control, particularly now and not to hesitate when medical attention is needed.

“If something happens, it is just as important if not more important for you to seek medical attention. So if you get a cut on your foot, or something happens, you would need to seek medical attention promptly, because if the diabetes is not controlled that can deteriorate quickly.”

Griffith told The Barbados Advocate that this was one of the general concerns highlighted during a recent meeting with her counterparts from across the region.

“The point was made, that since COVID-19, during the initial stage we are going through, that perhaps within a few months, we will be seeing more complications emerging because persons have not been taking care of themselves.

“So therefore we have recognised that over the coming weeks and perhaps months, that we will have to do some serious work in terms of identifying those persons and ensuring that they get appropriate medical attention and appropriate care for whatever is going on with them.”

She explained that the message from the association has not changed in the midst of the pandemic.

“Health management are the watchwords of the day. Everything that we have said before, continue doing it – monitoring your blood sugar, eat well, exercise, drink water, look at your portion sizes. Nothing has changed,” she stated.

Additionally, she lamented that it seems to be lost that persons are still having heart attacks, still having strokes, etc. during the pandemic.

“People still need to take care of themselves. You have to understand it is not just diabetes, not just cardiovascular disease, not just hypertension. It may be persons who are immuno-compromised, persons whose immune system is already not working well.

“You also have persons who have cancer. So therefore they already have a disease process in their body, so then to add COVID-19 on top of that would be an additional challenge for the body to overcome.”

She also said there appears to be the view that as long as a person has diabetes and they test positive for COVID-19, that is a death sentence.

“That is not what the international community is saying. The international community is saying if your diabetes is not well-controlled, then you would be at risk for greater adverse outcomes.”

Griffith also reminded that diets are critical at this point and alluded to a plan in the earlier stage of the curfew which would have seen a basket of goods being offered at different price points.

“The challenge I had with that particular initiative is that I was not seeing a greater focus on fruits and vegetables. It was more staple or carbohydrate-based. If we look at a healthy plate, it is one-third or one-quarter carbohydrates.

“So if you are presenting an option to someone that does not have in any way, shape or form the required percentage of fruits and vegetables that we are recommending to persons, they are already compromising their health.

“We want persons to have healthy, balanced diets, making sure that you control the amount of carbs that you are having,” she said, adding that fibre is also needed to regulate sugar levels and healthy bowel habits. (JH)