One of the hardest parts of being a parent is coping with the reality that your children could become ill. And, one illness that is showing up more often in children is diabetes.
When a parent learns that their child has diabetes, one of their first reactions is to want to know everything about the disease, including the symptoms, side effects and treatment options.
Taking care of the diabetic child also requires others to be educated as well. Teachers or day care personnel, grandparents, or anyone who provides care for the child must understand the nutritional requirements, medication needs and monitoring of blood sugar to insure the child's safety.
Children are inclined to have type I diabetes, formerly called juvenile diabetes. However, children are increasingly being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes too. Type I diabetes occurs when the pancreas stops making insulin which is necessary to assist in breaking down sugars (glucose) in our body to help it work with efficiency. When this breakdown of sugars fails to occur, as with type I diabetes, the sugar remains in the blood.
Insulin is crucial in breaking down sugars in the body to utilize for energy. It must be taken to control diabetes. Thus type I diabetes is also referred to as insulin-dependent diabetes. Physical exercise and dieting are likewise crucial in assisting to contain this form of the disease. Providing care for the child with diabetes entails recognizing the signs and any ensuing responses that may come about.
The primary signs of diabetes in children are seizures, incessant hunger, fast heart rate, persistant headaches, tiredness, feeling lightheaded, trouble concentrating and blurry vision. They may also exibit cold and damp skin, and breath with an unusual odor.
You must then be able to determine when the child is in crisis mode, and what your response should be when the child is enduring either a hypoglycemic or hyperglycemic episode. Hyperglycemia happens when the blood sugar levels are too high. Climbing sugar levels are commonly a consequence of overeating, not getting the proper quantity of insulin, or not getting enough physical exercise. Once a child becomes hyperglycemic, treatment by medical professionals is called for.
A child suffering from high blood sugar may show signs of extreme thirst, weakness, frequent urination, blurry vision and little or no appetite.
In the case of hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, the symptoms tend to vary from child to child. Most experience some combination of headaches, mood swings, extreme hunger, sweating, trembling, a tingling around the mouth and some degree of clumsiness.
At this point, the child should ingest something containing sugar like a soft drink, fruit juice or glucose pills. When the child is feeling more normal, they should then be given solid food. However, in some cases the hypoglycemia becomes severe, and the child is too weak to ingest liquids or solid food or is unconscious. At this point, an injection of the suggested dose of glucagon (a medication prescribed to quickly increase the amount of glucose in the blood), is typically recommended.
Proper diet plays a key role in maintaining the health of the diabetic child. Caregivers are responsible for ensuring that the child eats properly. It must be impressed upon them that eating too many sweets can make the child very ill. They must also understand that the child must ear regular, portion controlled meals and may need a snack occasionally to maintain proper blood sugar.
Adequate exercise is important to the diabetic child. They can take part in all regular, physical activities when they abide by two essential rules: They must refrain from playing just prior to eating and have a snack available so that they may supplant lost sugar. Exercise burns sugar and depletes energy, so the sweet snack will be needed to balance sugar levels.
Above all, the child must be educated about their illness. Children with diabetes must be taught how to monitor their blood sugar and what they must eat in order to control it and stay healthy.
While the diabetic child must be watched closely, the child and all of those involved with his or her care will soon find that their lives seem normal again. We all have to make adjustments as we go through life and learning to live with diabetes is just another one.
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