– DSA Western Cape News –
Clicks’ Head Office Men’s Wellness Day
Diabetes SA Western Cape together with aQuellé Water partnered and formed part of the Clicks’ Head Office Men’s Wellness Day in Cape Town in June.
We provided diabetes management materials to the corporate staff attending. The attendance was excellent, and a large number of staff asked about diabetes complications and good diabetes management practices.
The staff were very grateful for the information provided regarding Diabetes SA’s mission, key services, and objectives by the Western Cape Branch Manager, Caine Tibbs.
Total Wellbeing Event
Total Wellbeing, organised by Redeem Christian Church of God, Heaven’s Gate in Parklands, was held in July. The event’s purpose was to enlighten and educate men and women about physical health and healthy living. The topics of discussion were diabetes, diet, hypertension, and stress management.
Sister Onyinye Nwaulu from Milnerton Diabetes Support Group was the main speaker and gave a talk on hypertension and management.
Caine Tibbs, Western Cape Branch Manager shared his personal story as well as a health talk on diabetes, diet and management.
DSA Western Cape provided the education materials for this outreach.
– DSA Port Elizabeth News –
Exercise Workshop
This free workshop, held at Vesalius House, Mount Croix on 10 August, was open to all people interested in diabetes. The DSA Port Elizabeth branch was represented by Martin, Elizabeth, and Mariette Prinsloo, Pamela Molefe, Ndileka Rasmeni, Themselves Dlula, Thandi Mazodwa, Patricia Nelo, and Joshua Lamont-Turner.
Telkom Health Day
Martin and Elizabeth Prinsloo were invited to attend a Telkom Health Day. Notwithstanding the bitter cold weather and gale force wind, this event was well-attended and so many either had diabetes or a family member or friend who had diabetes.
– DSA Pretoria News –
June Support Group Meeting
DSA Pretoria’s guest speaker was Dr Karien Strydom. She spoke about the Kollage Clinic in Cornwall Hill, Centurion.
This clinic was started by the Kollage church with volunteers of doctors, nursing sisters, and other healthcare professionals who give their time and services to help those who do not have medical aid. The services at the moment are basic needs but as time goes on they are hoping to increase their services to the needy.
DSA Pretoria is planning to join them at their next open day. We were all encouraged by the information.
July Support Group Meeting
Dr Padayachee gave a talk on pharmaceutical medicines, how such medicines are categorised into schedules, and how each schedule is stored, secured and dispensed.
She also encouraged us to take stock of what has surpassed its usefulness. Medicines are no exception. The expiration date is a critical part of deciding if the product is safe to use and will work as intended. Using expired medical products is risky and possibly harmful to one’s health.
Once the expiration date has passed, there is no guarantee that the medicine will be safe and effective. If the medicine has expired, do not use it. We learnt how to safely dispose of old medications.
Finally, expired medicines are also not just a risk to the person they were prescribed for and can harm children. For all these reasons, proper disposal of unneeded medicines is essential.
Dr Padayachee spoke about how to identify counterfeit medicines, which she said was an increasing phenomenon in the South African market and poses health risks to the population.
She gave us a glimpse of the future of prescribed medication which could be improved through the analysis and application of genetic testing. It is hoped that through this approach, individual solutions could be provided to ensure effective treatment.
