Let not diabetes be your master

Dr. R. Thiyagarajan, India

On this World Diabetes Day, we have to remind ourselves of the UN Resolution 61/22 which requires all member countries to develop national policies for the prevention, treatment and care of diabetes. This is an indicator of the alarming situation caused by the ailment which by and large is the result of self- indulgence, negligence and callousness.

The prevalence rate has risen by 700 percent between 1971 and 2001. This staggering figure is really ominous as it not only indicates a medical phenomenon but also a break-down in the bonding, attitudes and aspirations in the family, caused by the economic pressure, competition and consumerism which are bombarding society today.

It seems rather strange, that an ailment which fifty years ago, was little known, very expensive to treat and even now become more common than the common cold everywhere in the world.

Everyone talks about it and offers free advice on how to tackle this ailment. Even while entertaining guests on a pleasant evening, the conversation inadvertently, turns to diabetes with a simple question like "Do you take sugar with your tea?" from then on, the birthday baby, the newly married couple and the festival which was the occasion for the get-together is forgotten and everyone shares his/her woes caused by diabetes.

The ailment, prevalent widely across the economic spectrum, has given an opportunity to philanthropists to conduct free medical camps and bring the treatment of the disease to the very doorsteps of the people in the remote villages. The media too, has given a wide publicity to the symptoms, remedies and precautions regarding diabetes, through oral messages, visual presentations and write-ups.

No doubt, there has been a very successful process of dissemination of knowledge. But there is a sinister side to it: an overload of information which baffles the ordinary person, leading him to act on his own.

This confusion has resulted in a wide range of responses, from a hypochondriac who starves himself on a stringent diet and wears out himself by attempting to walk 5 kms a day, to the unscrupulous person who takes pride in saying that he takes an extra dose of the prescribed medicine every time he eats too many sweets.

Besides these, there are the experimenters who keep changing the medicine, diet and exercise as the fancy leads then. All these attitudes are wrong, since each individual's physical condition is unique and can respond to only one particular method of treatment.

This sorry state of affairs is due to the laziness and self conceit of people who are shy of getting counselling from an expert in the field. They should understand that they cannot draw conclusions, on their own from the information available, say, on the internet.

This can be done only by a doctor who has the knowledge and experience to diagnose the symptoms and suggest the remedies. What is needed today is the readiness of the people to seek proper advice on the ailment.

An ideal state can be reached only step by step, and each step has to be such that it can be managed by the particular individual. For instance, when a diabetic patient rushes through the daily routine, one activity encroaches on the time and space of another and causes great mental strain, aggravated by the fear of not performing well.

Being in this state of mental stress continuously, eventually nullifies the effectiveness of the medication. On the other hand, one can do everything from waking up in the morning to bed time according to a regular schedule i.e., more or less at fixed times of a day.

This regularity allows a person some time before and after each activity, and this will go a long way in achieving equanimity and thus be free from mental stress.

The basic philosophy of the Homeopathy system of medicine is to treat the mind and the body together. Any diagnosis always factors in the mental condition as well as the physical disorder, before suggesting any treatment.

The prescription is always accompanied by a few simple suggestions to the individual to overcome the idiosyncrasies which are impediments to a ready response to the drugs. In this way the patient gets the counselling proper to his condition.

Homeopathy controls diabetes effectively. It is gentle in its action and can be easily accepted by any physical constitution of the human being. By boosting the natural healing mechanism of the body it prevents fatalities like renal failure.

Above all, it does not cause any side effects even after decades of using the drugs and is within the affordability of the common man. By offering a regimen that the patient feels comfortable with, it ensures that people suffering from diabetes do want to be treated and keep it under their control.