Diabetes from a podiatrist’s perspective
November is National Diabetes Month, a time when communities across the country team up to bring attention to diabetes and its impact on people of all ages, including local podiatrist, Brian Mohuba
POLOKWANE – Mohuba, who has a special interest in dealing with diabetics after running a long program at a diabetic center, also consults on cases where amputation is a possibility after people neglect to look after themselves.
Diabetes is one of the most common chronic conditions in the world and occurs when the body fails to process glucose correctly.
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Types of diabetes include diabetes type 1, a progressive autoimmune disease usually diagnosed in children and young adults, whereas type 2 diabetes can be caused by unhealthy lifestyle choices and usually starts in adulthood.
Women can also develop signs of diabetes while they are pregnant, called gestational diabetes. It is possible to live a healthy life by identifying the symptoms of diabetes early, receiving proper medical care and making healthy lifestyle changes.
“I believe that people need to be educated to know what it is all about and not only how they can prevent the issue, but also deal with it and have a full life,” Brian says.
He says that in his business, he comes across many people who believe that they have wounds that will not heal because they are diabetic. “This is not true. You can heal, it only means that you will heal slower than other people and you need to take special care of yourself,” he says.
In his line of work, Mohuba deals with diabetes from a different perspective as he would be asked to consult on instances where amputation is suggested.
“Most of the time people would have been fine with some other form of treatment and would not need amputation. Amputation kills people in my opinion because there is not enough care given for people before and after amputation that leads to them basically losing their will to live. Before it gets there, I would like to urge people to get tested, live healthy and if it should happen that they are diabetic, get the best advice to deal with it and still be who you were meant to be,’ he says.
