New Delhi: The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), one of the apex trade associations of the country successfully organized another edition of the webinar series on ‘Illness to Wellness’ campaign, themed around “Diabetes Care and Management During Post COVID–19 Era”.
ASSOCHAM organized this webinar with an objective to cascade mass awareness and disseminate knowledge & wisdom about diabetes which has been in the spotlight for increased risk of severe Covid-19 outcomes, more so as reports suggest that nearly one in six people with diabetes in the world is from India, also known as the world’s diabetes capital.
The virtual event was graced by renowned endocrinologists, ophthalmologists, diabetologists, obstetrician and gynaecologists that included – Dr Sudhir Gupta, Senior Chief Medical Officer (SAG), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, GoI, (Padma Shri) Dr (Prof) Anoop Misra, Chairman, Fortis – C–DOC (Centre of Excellence for Diabetes, Metabolic Diseases and Endocrinology); Dr Samir Sud, Co-Founder and Medical Director, Sharp Sight Eye Hospitals; Dr Dheeraj Kapoor, Chief Endocrinology, Artemis Hospitals; Dr Dheeraj Kapoor, Chief Endocrinology, Artemis Hospitals; Dr Hema Divakar, CEO, Asian Research and Training Institute for Skill Transfer (ARTIST) and Medical Director, Divakar’s Specialty Hospital, Bengaluru, and Mr Anil Rajput, Chairperson, ASSOCHAM CSR Council .
The ASSOCHAM’s campaign running under a CSR initiative supported by SAVLON, aims at promoting healthy living with a keen focus on wellness and preventive health through healthy habits, diet, exercise, and holistic health.
With India hit by a lethal second wave of Coronavirus, there have been many cases of people with diabetes getting affected by Covid-19. Besides, health experts say diabetes, coupled with Covid is the reason behind sudden spike in mucormycosis or ‘black fungus’ infections in the country.
Sharing his perspective on this, well-known diabetologist Dr Misra said, “Mucormycosis is mostly seen in Covid-19 patients with uncontrolled diabetes. Most of these patients are on steroids. In this epidemic, an interesting point is that mortality in these patients is lower than previously. This is because of improved multi-disciplinary management.”
Emphasising on the need to adopt a healthy lifestyle, Dr Gupta while delivering the keynote address stated that an individual needs to both preach and practice healthy habits for good life which includes intake of balanced diet, regular workout, adequate and proper sleep that are important to avoid stress.
He added that diabetes can be avoided by adopting healthy lifestyle and it is controllable, manageable, and treatable too.
Dr Kapoor noted that diabetes needs to be controlled very rigorously to avoid complications arising out of Covid-19 and indiscriminate use of steroids should be discouraged.
In his address, Dr Sud suggested that preventive strategies should be incorporated hand in hand with treatment of Covid-19. “One way to stall the possibility of the fungal infections is to make sure that Covid-19 patients – both in treatment and after recovery – are administered the correct dose and duration of steroids.”
Mr Rajput said that Covid-19 pandemic has left an indelible mark on humankind leading to colossal loss of lives and livelihoods. Noting that vaccination is an important tool to help stop the pandemic, Mr Rajput said that since we are still learning how vaccines will affect the spread of COVID-19, people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 should keep taking precautions in public places like wearing a mask, staying 6 feet apart from others, avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces, and washing your hands often.
Dr Divakar, who moderated the session meticulously, enlightened the audience with her knowledge fountain and made the session very interesting and interactive to extract best of knowledge from the panellists to make optimum benefits for the audience and concluded the session well in time.
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