How should you take care of your chronic illness, whether it’s diabetes or heart disease, during these trying times? We interviewed Dr.Ruvaiz Haniffa, Consultant Family Physician and Head of the Family Medicine Unit of the Faculty of Medicine, Colombo, to get his opinion on the topic.
Why do people with chronic conditions need special care during these times?
According to the WHO, Chronic illnesses like diabetes, hypertension and ischemic heart diseases usually encompass around 60% of mortality and 46% of total disease burden, worldwide. Unlike a wound or an infection that is cured with a course of antibiotics, these conditions require long term attention. The numbers have been on an upward curve for years, and are bound to increase further unless proper care is given.
The emergence of COVID-19 itself is an important reason for the need of increased care for these chronic illnesses as they are at an increased risk from COVID-19 when compared to healthy population.
Many chronic illnesses weaken the immune system of the patients over time. Therefore they are more susceptible to contract COVID-19 when exposed to the pathogen. Their lowered immunity also makes them more vulnerable to complications of COVID-19 like lung failure, heart attacks and Kawasaki disease, states Dr. Haniffa.
But with the whole world shifting its focus on prevention and treatment of COVID-19, care of chronic diseases has taken a back seat during the past few months.
In addition to the disruption to the medical clinics and closure of medical centers in the past months, reluctance of the patients to go to a healthcare institution for the fear of exposure to the pathogen has contributed to sub-optimal care in many people suffering from chronic conditions.
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This story is from the June 12, 2020 edition of Daily Mirror - Sri Lanka.
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This story is from the June 12, 2020 edition of Daily Mirror - Sri Lanka.
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