Diabetes Awareness Day At Legislature Focuses Attention On Nerve Disorder And Need For Foot Exams
Submitted by Nevada News Bureau on Mon, 04/04/2011 - 2:56pm
CARSON CITY – A coalition of health care groups, government agencies and political leaders were raising awareness today of Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy (DPN) as part of Diabetes Awareness Day in Nevada.
DPN is a nerve disorder caused by diabetes and is the leading reason for leg amputation. To raise awareness of the disorder, Gov. Brian Sandoval signed a proclamation naming today as Diabetes Awareness Day in Nevada. April is also Healthy Feet Month.
To raise awareness of DPN, the Nevada Diabetes Association and the Nevada Diabetes Council hosted a health fair at the Legislature providing educational materials and information on the disorder and diabetes in general. They also offered free blood pressure and blood sugar testing.
Dr. Jerry Reeves, president of the NDC and chairman of “iDo” Southern Nevada Diabetes and Obesity Committee, and Felicia Rodriguez-Marshall, who has diabetes and lost her foot as a result of DPN complications, both spoke at the event about the need for diabetics to do all they can to remain healthy.
The issues of diabetes complications are a budget issue as well, Reeves said, noting that Nevada’s Medicaid program spends millions on such health care problems each year.
All Nevadans need to exercise and eat right, but it is especially important for diabetics to maintain a healthy lifestyle and follow the directions of their doctors, he said. This includes keeping their weight down and undergoing an annual foot exam to look for potential complications from diabetes, Reeves said.
Nevada has a target of getting 90 percent of diabetics to receive annual foot exams, but only about 60 percent of the population is doing so now, he said.
Rodriguez-Marshall, who was diagnosed as a diabetic at age 14, said she did not take care of herself even after being diagnosed with the disease. As a result, she lost a portion of her foot due to an infection.
Now 32 and the mother of two children, Rodriguez-Marshall said she is doing all she can to stay healthy and be there for her family.
“Listen to your doctor,” she said.
In Nevada, $181 million in health care expenses have been associated with complications from DPN, which is the leading reason for leg amputation. DPN is life-threatening and debilitating. Eight percent of Nevadans have diabetes, and many have diabetes and don’t know it.
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