Type 1 Diabetes in Children

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Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the body destroys insulin producing beta cells in the pancreas. It is a condition in which your child's pancreas no longer produces the insulin. Your child needs insulin for survive from outer source. The diagnosis of type 1 diabetes in children can be overwhelming at first. Although type 1 diabetes in children requires consistent care, advances in blood sugar monitoring and insulin delivery have improved the daily management of type 1 diabetes in children.

Symptoms

The signs and symptoms of type 1 diabetes in children usually develop quickly. The main symptoms are the same as in adults. They tend to come on over a few weeks:

• Thirst


• Weight loss


• Tiredness or Fatigue.


• Frequent urination.


• Extreme hunger


• Blurred vision.


• Sugar and ketones in the urine


• Rapid, deep, and labored breathing of people who have ketoacidosis or who are in a diabetic coma


• Bed wetting, especially when the child was not wetting previously

Symptoms that are more typical for children include:

• Tummy pains


• Headaches


• Irritability or unusual behavior


• Yeast infection

Treatment

Treatment for type 1 diabetes is a lifelong commitment of blood sugar monitoring, insulin, healthy eating and regular exercise. And as your child grows and changes, so you get his or her diabetes treatment plan from your doctor. Over the years, your child may need different doses or types of insulin, a new meal plan or other treatment changes accordingly.

Type 1 diabetes is treated with daily injections of insulin. This involves injecting insulin under the skin to get absorbed into the bloodstream where it can then access all the body cells that require it. Oral diabetes medications are not effective.

Diet

Current recommendations for children with diabetes:

• Three main meals


• Two to three snacks


• The whole family eats the same meals.

It's important to give your child a healthy balanced diet that is high in fibre, vitamins, protein and carbohydrates. Healthy diet is the same for everybody, whether or not they have diabetes. How much your child should eat depends on age and weight. Sweets are no longer off limits because the diabetic diet is now a relic of the past. Sweets in moderation are possible accompanied by the appropriate dose of insulin.

Physical activity

Daily physical activity and exercise are important for children with diabetes. Physical activity usually lowers blood sugar, and it can affect blood sugar levels for up to 12 hours after exercise. If your child begins a new activity, check your child's blood sugar more often than usual until you learn how his or her body reacts to the activity. You might need to adjust your child's meal plan or insulin doses to compensate for the increased activity.

Prevention

Children with type 1 diabetes will have high and low blood sugar levels from time to time. You can help avoid many immediate problems and long term complications, such as eye, skin, kidney, heart, blood vessel, and nerve diseases by:

1. Helping your child develop a healthy attitude toward having diabetes. As your child grows and develops, let him or her appropriate responsibility for treatment.

2. Physical activity and exercise help to control the blood sugar level.

3. Checking your child's blood sugar level several times a day and whenever you think it may be high or low.

4. Encouraging and supporting your child to keep blood sugar levels within a target range. Control of blood sugar levels as soon as possible after diagnosis of diabetes, aware your child the greatest chance of avoiding complications from diabetes later on in life.

5. Recognizing and treating high and low blood sugar quickly. Make sure everyone who cares for your child knows how to treat high and low blood sugar level.

6. Discussing the dangers of smoking, drinking alcohol, and using other drugs. Smoking affects the blood vessels and can lead to diabetes complications earlier in life.

7. Keeping your child's immunizations up to date. Diabetes affects the immune system soon, increasing the risk of developing a severe illness.

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Source by david