Diabetes

 

Diabetes in Children

Did you know that in the past thirty years there has been an increase in childhood diabetes?

Every year, more children are diagnosed with diabetes and many times the disease can turn fatal because children are too young to fight it as an adult would. Most commonly, a child will develop type 2 diabetes.

 Type 1 diabetes occurs when the pancreas is unable to produce insulin. The disease occurs when the body’s immune system starts attacking the body’s organs and tissues. You can imagine that this is much harder for a child to endure and recover from, since their bodies are so young and fragile.

Diabetes does not just play into genetics and it does not play favorites. A little more than million people are diagnosed on a annual basis and right now over 24 million people have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in America alone.

To know if your child might have diabetes, check them for signs:

·         Unexpected weight loss

·         Frequent tiredness

·         Frequent urination

·         Extreme thirst

·         Headaches

·         Stomach aches

·         Behavior problems

If your child shows these signs for more than two weeks then it is time to see a doctor. Generally, children with diabetes are tested for type 1 or type 2, first. From there doctors can decide if diet and exercise will help or if extra measures should be taken such as an insulin pump. Generally all children are provided with a glucose monitor for checking glucose levels regularly. In today’s technological savvy world, there are glucose monitors for children that are also games, to make testing more fun and enjoyable.

With diabetes, there is sometimes nothing we can do as parents or grandparents to keep our children safe. But one way to help try and prevent the disease from showing up in our children is to keep them healthy. Children should get plenty of exercise and should eat healthy.