Features

You are in: South Yorkshire > Faith > Features > Fasting for patients

Dr S Mishra

Fasting for patients

The sick are exempt from fasting but some, for whatever reason, do decide to observe fasting. For physicians treating Muslim patients, the following guidelines are suggested.

Ramadan is an important time for Muslims, not simply because it helps develop a closer relationship with God, but also because Ramadan is a time to think about those who are less fortunate.

Ramadan health

The sick are exempt from fasting during Ramadan. But some, for whatever reasons, do decide to observe fasting. For physicians treating Muslim patients, the following guidelines are suggested.

Diabetic Patients:

• Diabetics who are controlled by diet alone can fast and hopefully, with weight reduction, their diabetes may even be cured or at least improved.

Diabetics who are taking oral hypoglycemia along with the diet should exercise extreme caution if they decide to fast. They should reduce their dose to one-third and take the drug not in the morning, but in the evening at the time of ending the fast. If they develop low blood sugar symptoms in the daytime, they should end the fast immediately.

• Diabetics taking insulin should not fast. If they do, at their own risk, they should do so under close supervision and make drastic changes in the insulin dose. For example, they should eliminate regular insulin altogether and take in divided doses after ending the fast or before the pre-fast breakfast.

Ramadan and Medince

Hypertensive or Cardiac Patients:

• Those who have mild to moderate high blood pressure along with being overweight should be encouraged to fast, since fasting may help to lower their blood pressure. They should see their physician to adjust medications such as Diuretics.

• Those with severe hypertension or heart diseases should not fast at all.

Migraine Headache:

Even in tension headache, dehydration or low blood sugar will aggravate the symptoms, but in migraine during fasting, there is an increase in blood free fatty acids which directly affects the severity or precipitation of migraine through release of catecholamine. Patients with migraines are advised not to fast.

Green Vegtable

Pregnant Women (normal pregnancy):

Pregnancy is not a medical illness. Therefore, the same exemption does not apply. However, the Prophet said that pregnant and nursing women do not have to fast. This is in line with God not wanting anyone, even a small fetus, to suffer.

There is no way of knowing the damage to the unborn child until delivery, and that might be too late.

In my humble opinion, during the first and third trimester (three months) women should not fast. If however, Ramadan happens to come during the second trimester (4th-6th months) of pregnancy, a women may elect to fast provided that 1) her own health is good, and 2) it is done with the pen-nission of her obstetrician and under close supervision. hours) abstinence of water.

Therefore it is recommended that Muslim patients, if they do fast, do so under medical supervision.

last updated: 03/08/2009 at 17:56
created: 14/09/2008

Local BBC Sites

Neighbouring Sites

Related BBC Sites

Features