Curative Health Services: Take No Risks When It Comes to Health; ADA Alert Promotes Diabetes Awareness.

Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers

HAUPPAUGE, N.Y.--(BW HealthWire)--March 20, 2001

People take risks everyday, from driving while talking on a cell phone to not carrying a raincoat on a cloudy morning. But risking one's health by ignoring the warning signs of diabetes can have far-reaching health consequences that may include chronic wounds and, ultimately, amputation.

"It is extremely important for people to know the warning signs of diabetes, particularly those signs that could be mistaken for something else and ignored," said Dr. Mark Doyne, Vice President of Medical Affairs for Curative Health Services (Nasdaq:CURE). "If untreated, symptoms could be precursors to blindness, kidney disease and other diabetes complications, including nerve damage and amputation."

Ignoring warning signs as seemingly harmless as slightly blurred vision or slight fatigue might be understandable because those conditions often are the result of nothing more sinister than reaching middle age. Irritability and other diabetes symptoms might logically be assigned to a busy lifestyle and the stresses resulting from it. However, assuming that such symptoms are harmless could be a major mistake.

The potential for long-term negative health consequences resulting from ignoring diabetes warning signs is why the American Diabetes Association (ADA) sponsors American Diabetes Alert, on Tuesday, March 27 this year, to help identify the estimated 5.4 million Americans with undiagnosed diabetes.

The annual American Diabetes Alert Day provides a reminder for those with warning signs to have those signs checked by a physician

Neuropathy, or nerve damage, is one of the most common complications of diabetes. It develops gradually, usually in the feet first, and can result in numbness or tingling -- a diabetes warning sign -- and the loss of the protective sensation that signals pain, especially in the legs and feet.

If untreated, a minor injury like a small cut can become a serious wound resulting in chronic infection, gangrene and even amputation. Something as easy as using a mirror to check the bottoms of feet for small cracks or cuts could help make the difference between early treatment and possible amputation.

"Proper foot care and a simple test for nerve damage also can prevent or lessen the likelihood of injuries, sores and infections," explained Doyne. "Regular testing for neuropathy during office visits by patients' physicians or clinical staff can help identify patients at risk for developing neuropathy."

Doyne also urges following basic steps in proper foot care - ranging from wearing the right kind of footwear to properly trimming toenails - that are key in the prevention of nonhealing wounds and amputations as a result of neuropathy.

With diabetes education and testing, warning signs that might otherwise be missed or explained away can be detected, taken seriously and evaluated. The result, says the ADA, is that the 56,200 Americans who annually experience diabetes-related amputations could be reduced in number by 50 percent.

As part of Alert Day, the ADA has prepared a short, seven-question quiz to assess a person's risk of developing the disease. The quiz and information about risk factors are available online at www.diabetes.org/ada/risktest.asp.

Wound Care Centers consider a chronic nonhealing wound to be one that has not demonstrated notable improvement after four weeks, or has not healed after a period of eight weeks.

Wound Care Centers(R) are members of Curative Health Services' nationwide network of wound care specialists. Wound Care Centers offer comprehensive wound treatment for patients who have nonhealing wounds resulting from conditions such as diabetes, poor circulation, and pressure ulcers due to immobility. For more information about the comprehensive treatment available at Wound Care Centers, call 1-800-991-HEAL.

Curative Health Services (www.curative.com) is a leading disease management company in chronic wound care. Curative provides a broad continuum of services to healthcare providers through a nationwide network. This national network of over 130 hospital-based Wound Care Centers in 33 states, has offered comprehensive treatment to over 300,000 patients, achieving a more than 90 percent patient satisfaction rate.