Ramadan Fasting: Health Precautions for Diabetics During Holy Month

Diabetic patients must benefit from regular medical follow-up and must scrupulously follow certain precautions.

For Rajae Jabbouri, internist at the Cheikh Khalifa Ibn Zaïd International University Hospital, interviewed by the newspaper le Matin: "The risks of fasting in diabetic patients are mainly of a metabolic nature. They present a risk of hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia and a risk of dehydration, especially in the elderly.

First of all, it is important to know that there are different types of diabetes requiring specific treatments and different approaches.

Dr. Jabbouri distinguishes two types of diabetes: type 1 diabetes, requiring insulin treatment, and type 2 diabetes, which requires oral treatments and sometimes also insulin treatment.

Patients who are on insulin treatment with several injections per day, especially the elderly, risk complications such as head trauma and are therefore prohibited from fasting.

Dr. Jabbouri strongly recommends a medical examination before and after Ramadan and adds that "in order to be able to fast, it is recommended to modify the times of intake and the dosages".

It is also important to remember that for type 1 diabetic patients, fasting is an absolute contraindication and they should therefore not fast.

Article originally published in June 2017