Perhaps your youngster is abnormally thirsty or using the bathroom more often lately. They look always irritable and exhausted. They have even dropped a little weight. In children and teenagers, type 1 diabetes can strike suddenly or progressively; parents sometimes ignore specific symptoms or overlook trends suggestive of a possible diabetes diagnosis. If diabetes is the offender, though, the sooner it is discovered the better. Ignored, diabetes can cause major problems or death.
What is it Type 1 Diabetes?
An autoimmune disease, type 1 diabetes causes the body’s immune system to become confused and assaults and kills the pancreas cells producing insulin. The body cannot adequately metabolize glucose, or sugar, without insulin. Glucose cannot anymore be absorbed by cells and used for energy. Rather, glucose accumulates in the blood.
Extended high blood sugar levels can cause major problems like nerve damage, heart attack, stroke, and moreover. This emphasizes the need for early identification of type 1 diabetes. Though type 1 diabetes can strike anyone at any age, there are peak times between ages 5 and 6 and then once more between ages 11 and 13. Studies have revealed that hormones could affect the start or timing of disease.
What is the Origin of Type 1 diabetes?
Of those with diabetes, just over 5% have type 1. Since it is a hereditary disorder, a child’s risk of acquiring the disease rises if their family history includes a parent or sibling who has been diagnosed. Furthermore, researchers think something in the surroundings—even a virus—may set off the immunological reaction that defines type 1.
Although type 1 diabetes cannot be cured, with appropriate treatment the disorder is controllable. Either daily insulin injections or an insulin pump will be used by your child to restore the missing insulin. A youngster with type 1 diabetes showing symptoms indicates that their body is not processing glucose as it ought. Parents should thus be educated and alert since this helps them to avoid problems.
Should your child exhibit any of these early type 1 diabetes signs, have your pediatrician contacted very away.
- Enhanced thirst
- Frequent urination (often the first indication is bedwetting in a youngster who had been dry at night).
- Severe hunger
- Weight reduction even with above-normal consumption
- Exhaustion
- The vision that is blurring
- Irritability or odd behavior
Vaginal yeast infections in girls who have not begun puberty or diaper rash in newborns brought on by too high yeast levels
Managing Type 1 Diabetes in Children
Receiving a diabetes diagnosis can be burdensome. To make sure your child gets the correct treatment, there is plenty to study. The good news is, though, you are not traveling this road by yourself. The doctor of your child will send you to a diabetes expert who will assist you in learning more about the nuances of handling their diagnosis. You will be routinely meeting with a team of providers as part of their diabetes treatment.
Key Take-Away
The secret is to squarely deal with diabetes. Poorly controlled type 1 diabetes can lead to long-term difficulties into adulthood including heart disease, stroke, visual impairment, kidney damage, skin issues, and nerve damage. Eventually, controlling their illness will become just another daily activity with plenty of assistance and supervision from you and the team looking after your kid.