Daily Times

KARACHI: Pakistanis are more fearful of having to endure daily injections than they are of spiders, flying, public speaking, exams or clowns, according to a recent nationwide survey.

Asked to rank ten things, people are commonly afraid of, respondents listed having injections in fifth place behind a fear of snakes, sharks, heights and lighting. The survey also revealed that over one-third of respondents said they would rather skydive from a plane if it meant being able to avoid needles every day, with over a quarter saying they would rather handle a python. Unfortunately, while most people only have to brave the occasional needle throughout their lifetime, it is a different story for the 8 percent of Pakistanis living with diabetes-1, many of whom will be faced with having to inject themselves up to four times per day.

Professor Dr Taeed Butt from Fatima Memorial Hospital said the survey results were not surprising and having to self-inject every day was an ordeal for many people with diabetes. “Taking injections before each meal can be a psychological and physical burden due to the associated pain. It is quite common for children and adolescents to skip a dose of insulin because they cannot face another injection – and this can obviously have serious health consequences,” Dr Taeed said.

“Using an injection aid may decrease the risk of future injection problems, especially for younger patients and facilitate the use of multiple daily injections, which may contribute to a decreased risk of long-term complications. I would encourage all diabetics who face the burden of multiple daily injections to talk with their healthcare professional to seek advice on alternative solutions” added specialist Endocrinologist Dr Saleem Qureshi from Kahuta Research Laboratory Hospital.

The survey was commissioned by Medtronic, the global leader in medical technology, to coincide with its newly introduced injection aid, enabling patients to reduce injections directly to their skin from 120 times in a typical month, to only once every three days. Kausar Cardiac Center Specialist Cardiologist with expertise in diabetes, Dr Rehan Omar said Medtronic’s injection aid solution is the i-Port Advance, a wearable technology used by people living with diabetes on injection therapy that provides a safe, effective, and easy way for patients to administer insulin.

“i-Port, which stands for injection port is a three-day-wearable device that people with diabetes inject into instead of injecting directly into the skin,” Dr Rehan said. “i-Port Advance, which was released in the Pakistan recently means people with insulin-dependent diabetes may no longer have to suffer multiple skin punctures every day,” he said.

“With nearly half of all patients on daily injection therapy reporting bruising and more than one third reporting pain-2, the device is expected to be a game-changer in the treatment of diabetes. The i-Port will also help relieve those who experience anxiety from injecting their diabetes medications. “In fact, a prospective study, which involved 100 nurses and 100 patients in a community hospital revealed that the i-Port Advance decreased anxiety of needles in patients by 100 percent,” he added.