A prevention stand crisscrosses the canton to fight against diabetes

This September 1st begins the awareness campaign of Action Diabète. For a month, the project will set up its traveling stand in the canton’s markets.

First appointment in Martigny, where it will be possible – as in other cities – to contact various health professionals to receive information and advice on the management of the disease, but above all to assess its risk factors through a questionnaire and then benefit from a free screening.

In Switzerland, more than 500,000 people live with type 2 diabetes. Sometimes, without knowing it.

Dr. Christophe Petitediabetologist

Diabetics will be able to get an evaluation of their feet. Note that partner pharmacies will also carry out free screenings (a list is available on the Action Diabète website).

One in three Valais residents are still unaware of their illness

“Type 2 diabetes is an insidious disease, as most often asymptomatic. Several years can thus pass before we encounter health problems”, explains Dr. Christophe Petite, diabetologist.

“It is estimated that between 6 to 8% of the population lives with diabetes. For more than 90% of them, it is type 2 diabetes. In Switzerland, this would correspond to more than 500,000 people.

Read also: In Valais, diabetes figures worry health professionals

Glucose (blood sugar level) is considered normal if it is between 4 and 7 mmol/l for those who take the test on an empty stomach. “If the values ​​are 10-12 mmol/l, those affected will not feel anything. But from 15-20 mmol/l, we begin to constantly need to drink and very often need to urinate. You can also sometimes see weight loss or increased fatigue, which are symptoms of hyperglycemia.

Am I at risk?

Screening is for everyone, but especially for people who rarely control their blood sugar. This can usually be done by taking a blood test from your doctor; here, the control is carried out via capillarity (a prick at the end of the finger), as is also the case in pharmacies.

Read also: Diabetes, a disease still poorly understood in Switzerland

It is possible to develop type 2 diabetes at any age, but a first glycemic control is generally proposed around 40 to 50 years.

“Heredity plays a big role. As a genetic factor, it is impossible to modify it, unlike its eating or movement habits. These are two essential factors, because eating healthy and moving enough can often prevent type 2 diabetes. If his lifestyle is unhealthy and rather sedentary, it is recommended to test his blood sugar. And to repeat this test regularly.

Multidisciplinary follow-up

Working in an interprofessional way is very interesting in the follow-up of patients.

“After several years, an insufficiently balanced type 2 diabetes can sometimes affect the eyes, the feet, the kidneys, the heart. It is therefore essential to be able to rely on other professions – a dietician to improve one’s diet, a podiatrist for people who have feet at risk, nurses from the Valais Diabetes Association or CMS who carry out regular care, an ophthalmologist for vision checks, a cardiologist if necessary, pharmacists for taking medication, etc. – in order to offer the best possible care to the patient.”

Read also: Valais is reinventing the management of diabetes

“Pharmacies have access to the public from 8 am to 6.30 pm and they often make it possible to reach people who, because they live in a certain economic or cultural precariousness, rarely go to the doctor”, explains Nicolas Dorsaz, pharmacist and member of the Action Diabète steering committee.

“During this campaign, our role is also to ensure that interprofessionalism is effective. That is to say, inform diabetic patients as well as possible, then refer them to the right specialist or to the Valais Diabetes Association, who will accompany them and then give them other more precise and concrete information. The goal? Working together around the patient, making him a partner – if not the main player – in his treatment.

When new technologies get involved

A Valaisan and secure smartphone application has also been launched. “DiabApp” allows you to collect all the information related to follow-up, to plan your appointments, to access a lot of information and to record the different treatments and medications administered.

“The patient thus has a repertoire which condenses all of his follow-up, always with him in his pocket”, illustrates Nicolas Dorsaz. “He himself chooses what he wants to find in the application and determines who has access to his tracking information. Thus, the coordination of care will be facilitated.”

After Martigny on September 1, the stand will set up in Sierre on the 6th, Monthey on the 14th, Sion on the 23rd, Viège on the 28th and at the Simplon Center in Brig on the 29th.

More information on Action Diabète or on the website of the Valais Diabetes Association.