Healthy Advice for Fit Living

Juvenile Diabetes exist in children in the form of type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is typically a disease of childhood and can appear in children at any age. Its highest incidence, however, is in children 10 to 14 years old.

In recent years,juvenile diabetes in ages under 5 years has also increased. Recently, type 2 diabetes that is typically a disease of the adults has also been occurring in children in alarming proportions.

Juvenile diabetes symptoms are usually quite severe, and rapidly arise over weeks or months. Juvenile diabetes symptoms include thirst, excessive urination, hunger, weight loss, irritability and various other symptoms.

The goals of diabetes treatment in juvenile and type 2 diabetes are almost the same as in the adults.

The goals are to:

• Achieve and maintain blood sugar at a safe and near to normal level
• Reduce the risk of diabetes emergencies such as low blood sugar, very high blood sugar, and increased acids in the blood
• Reduce the risk of long-term complications of diabetes
• Control diabetes related disorders, including high blood pressure, abnormal levels of cholesterol and other blood fats
• Maintain normal physical growth and mental development of children

In general, the principles of diabetes care that are relevant to adults are also applicable to children with diabetes. There are, however, certain aspects of diabetes care that are either unique or have a greater relevance for children.

One such aspect is your role as a parent or family member. Because your young child cannot manage his or her diabetes independently, you must take the full responsibility of managing the diabetes care of your child.

Type 1 Diabetes in Children

The course of type 1 diabetes in children, as in adults, can be divided into three main stages:

1. diagnosis
2. honeymoon
3. and full-fledged diabetes

Managing Child Diabetes in Diagnosis Stage

This is the stage when diabetes is diagnosed in your child. The news that your child has diabetes is a psychological shock for you, but you and your child have to live with this disease, and manage it to have a fruitful life.

During this stage, you must keep a close contact with the health care professionals who will assist you in managing diabetes care of your child.

These professionals will help you to:

• Recognize the symptoms of low blood sugar, very high blood sugar, and increased acids in the blood
• Treat low blood sugar with food or by injecting glucagon
• Test blood sugar and ketones in the urine
• Know the basics of insulin therapy
• Plan healthy meals for your child
• Learn special diabetes care when your child is sick

Because the body produces little or no insulin in type 1 diabetes, your child having type 1 diabetes must get insulin injections.

In the early stage of type 1 diabetes, the destruction of beta cells is partial and the body is still secreting some insulin.

The insulin requirement of infants and children is small in this stage. During this stage, two daily injections of insulin consisting of intermediate-acting NPH or lente and regular insulin may be sufficient to control blood sugar.

During the course of treatment, various adjustments can be made in the insulin plan to achieve better control of blood sugar. For example, the dose of intermediate-acting insulin in the morning can be increased in the above plan to improve blood sugar control before dinner.

Also, rapid-acting insulin lispro or aspart may be added to improve blood sugar before lunch. Other adjustments, including increase or decrease in the insulin doses, are also possible.