Summary:
Only 61% stick exclusively to modern medicine and 9% use only alternative medicine . At the onset of diabetes, patients take medicine for some time and then 30-40% stop it without physician’s advice. The main reason for these are the high cost of modern medicine and fear about side-effects.This is shown in a study – Complementary and alternative medicine use by diabetes patients in Kerala – conducted by Achutha Menon Centre for Health Science Studies. KOCHI: Almost 30% of patients with diabetes make combined use of alternative medicines in state. Reasonable control of blood sugar is important to prevent kidney disease, heart attacks, stroke and blindness.“Poor treatment access, high cost, low awareness, health system challenges, inadequate number of trained physicians and the inertia of healthcare providers are barriers to achieve optimal blood sugar control..