Check blood sugar levels after COVID recovery: doctors

The spike in Mucormycosis cases has put the spotlight on diabetes

Foreign-bound students queue up for a special vaccination drive at the Institute of Preventive Medicine at Narayanaguda, on Wednesday.

Discussions on the possibility of developing diabetes or uncontrolled blood sugar levels among COVID-recovered patients has been rife, but it was the spike in Mucormycosis cases that brought the non-communicable disease back into focus. ENT surgeons as well as general physicians have advised people to get their blood sugar levels checked after recovering from COVID-19, irrespective of a history of diabetes.

Opthalmologists and ENT surgeons have pointed out on multiple occasions that the fungal infection can occurs in patients with uncontrolled diabetes, those on long-term steroid therapy and also among people with compromised immunity. Though the infection has been detected among a small percentage of post-COVID patients, awareness about it can help in early diagnosis, they say.

Superintendent of Government ENT Hospital T. Shankar says they have come across a few patients who found out that they had diabetes only when being screened for Mucormycosis. He said that the patients might have had diabetes from the past few months or years prior to contracting COVID, but did not know about it.

Senior consultant physician at KIMS Hospitals K. Shivaraju has advised that one must monitor their blood sugar levels post-COVID regardless of whether they had diabetes previously or not. This helps in avoiding various complications that could arise from uncontrolled diabetes. “Apart from severe complications, people might have fatigue, excess urination and body pains, if blood sugar levels are not under control,” he adds.

“If someone is detected with diabetes, they have to get checked regularly,” asserts Dr Shankar.

Doctors say further research into relation between COVID and diabetes is needed to better understand effects of the infectious disease.

Telangana Health department used to conduct Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) survey in which those above the age of 30 years were checked for diabetes and hypertension. The survey had to be kept on hold during the peak of the second wave. Officials said they will resume the survey in a few weeks, as that will help detect diabetes in the early stages.