Mandi: Decision on insulin pumps a blessing for diabetic patients
Mandi, May 2
The state government has decided to provide free insulin pumps to Type-1 diabetic patients. Due to the high cost of insulin pumps, patients from poor families cannot afford these.
Dr Jatinder Kumar Mokta, Professor, Medicine, IGMC, Shimla, said, “The use of insulin pump controls the blood sugar level in cases of Type-1 diabetes. It has been observed that this disease is affecting children at an early age, which results in kidney failure, if they do not get treatment in time. In the absence of pumps, patients take insulin injections every day. This makes them vulnerable to serious infections in kidney and other organs.”
Tackling Type-1 diabetes
- The government has decided to provide free insulin pumps to patients suffering from Type-1 diabetes
- The use of insulin pump helps in controlling the blood sugar level of Type-1 diabetic patients
- For Type-1 diabetic children, insulin is like oxygen as they cannot survive without it
- Regular supply of insulin will improve their quality of life and help them
- survive longer
“In August 2021, for treating a little girl in the Lahaul valley, who was a Type-1 diabetic patient, an insulin pump was used at an altitude of 10,000 feet. After the use of insulin pump, her blood sugar level is now under control and she is doing fine,” said Dr Mokta.
“Ninety-five per cent patients suffer from Type-2 diabetes, while five per cent are afflicted by Type-1 diabetes. Both boys and girls are affected by the disease. For Type-1 diabetic children, insulin is like oxygen as they cannot survive without it. However, poverty acts as a barrier in obtaining insulin regularly. These children are sometimes hospitalised due to various complications. Unfortunately, many of them die because they don’t have regular access to insulin,” Dr Mokta said.
Presenting the Budget in the Vidhan Sabha, CM Sukhvinder Sukhu had said that Type-1 diabetes was prevalent among pregnant women and children in the state. He said the state government would provide them insulin pumps free of cost.
