Stop misinformation about type 1 Diabetes and Insulin treatment: United Diabetes Forum

Mumbai: Now a days, diabetes is extremely prevalent and leads to other diseases and complications too. Diabetes Mellitus is mainly of two types- type 1 diabetes which affects about 5 per cent patients and mainly affects children and can be treated only with regular insulin injections, there being no known cure for it worldwide. The other type, type 2 diabetes affects 95 per cent patients and can be kept under control with medicines and proper diet. Such patients may require insulin injections too after few years for maintaining glucose control.

The type 1 diabetes comprises mainly children and regular insulin injections are the only remedy for this ailment worldwide. However some people are creating a illusion on social media that this diabetes can be cured with pills, yoga and meditation. If people follow such wrong advice and stop administering insulin injection, then the lives of children suffering from diabetes will be endangered. Hence United Diabetes Forum (UDF) President Dr Manoj Chawla, Secretary Dr Rajiv Kovil and Treasurer Dr Tejas Shah, in a letter have urged the Union Health Ministry, to stop this misinformation campaign.

UDF President Dr Manoj Chawla said that “the insulin is secreted from the pancreas and it helps in converting carbohydrates into the energy. When the process of insulin secretion stops, the glucose is not converted into the energy. Resultantly it gets accumulated in blood vessels paving the way for the diabetes and its complications.

As stated above, insulin is the only remedy for type one diabetes. If people fall for the misinformation and stop administering insulin injection to their children suffering from diabetes, then they will risk the lives of their children. Hence this campaign to stop this misinformation on the social media.