Diabetes

Here are some reliable sources that can provide more information on diabetes in children. American Diabetes Association  Phone: 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-832-6874) www.diabetes.org (or find your local chapter in the phone book). National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse  Phone: 1-301-654-3327 www.niddk.nih.gov MedicAlert Foundation International  Phone: 1-800-432-5378 www.medicalert.org Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation  Phone: 1-800-533-CURE (2873) www.jdrf.org Barbara Davis Center for […]

Diabetes is not like other health problems. It needs attention many times a day, every day. It also requires knowledge on how to cope with special occasions, sickness, and emergencies. Your family will become the greatest experts on your child’s diabetes! Although there is no cure for diabetes, it can be successfully controlled. Insulin injections

Each child is different. One might be ready to give injections at the age of 6 or 7, while another might still be reluctant at 11 or 12. Here are some guidelines: Age What the Child Can Do Special Considerations At/under 5 years of age Can get a feeling of control by choosing the finger

Successful management of type 1 diabetes means balancing insulin and blood sugar. Normally, the body makes insulin when it’s needed. Right after meals, it produces enough insulin to process the blood sugar from that meal, moving it out of the blood and into the body’s cells. Between meals, the level of insulin drops before it

Diabetes has one big advantage over other diseases: you can always tell how well your child is doing. Blood sugar levels can be checked many times a day in the home and elsewhere. This shows how much glucose is present in the blood at different times of day, so you can adjust insulin or food

Before the 1920s, there was no treatment for diabetes, and type 1 was always fatal. Then in 1922, insulin was extracted from the pancreases of animals and given to people with diabetes. Since then, insulin has been greatly improved. Through genetic engineering, we can now make insulin that is the same as that made in

Hypoglycemia – episodes of low blood sugar – can occur when there is too much insulin or not enough food. In people without diabetes, insulin levels fall naturally between meals. When you take injections, some insulin will keep circulating, and this can drive blood sugar too low. It is especially likely to dip: If a

Children with diabetes need to eat the same nutritious food that other family members should be eating. They won’t be on a “diet.” They can eat everything in moderation – including foods containing sugar. Special diabetic and dietetic foods are not necessary. But people with diabetes need to watch: What time they eat (meals and