Diabetes is not a disease that only affects adults, some children also suffer from this disease. Type 1 diabetes appears in children and adolescents, and will accompany them throughout their lives. They require daily drug treatment and information to live with it. Let's see how diabetes affects children.
What is the diabetes?
Diabetes is a chronic disease, except for gestational diabetes. Type 1 diabetes mellitus appears in young people and type 2 appears in older people. In a metabolic disease consisting of having very high blood sugar levels. This is caused by a defect in the insulin hormone that is secreted by the pancreas. Insulin is responsible for allowing cells to use glucose as an energy source. If high levels of glucose accumulate in the blood, hyperglycemia occurs, which is harmful to the body.
El 10% of diabetes cases are type 1, and its incidence is rising alarmingly in recent years. A poor diet and changes in sedentary habits could be affecting the increase in cases of children and young people with diabetes.
Treatment in children for diabetes
Treatment for diabetes, as it is a chronic disease, is lifelong, since there is no cure. Treatment consists of insulin injections to wear daily. Thanks to these injections, the body is supplied with the necessary insulin that it does not produce naturally. In addition, you have to prick yourself several times a day to check how your blood sugar levels are.
It is also recommended to do some lifestyle changes, both in diet and exercise. You have to eat as healthy a diet as possible, avoiding sugars.
How diabetes affects children and parents
It can be hard on the child and his family, especially in the beginning. There is a lot of information to digest and changes to make on a day-to-day basis. Parents are concerned that the child is not yet conscious or autonomous enough to know the consequences of not following treatment. So parents need to be very involved, not only in monitoring but also in monitoring blood glucose levels, even at night.
Children have negative emotions about their illness, since they feel that it limits them in their day to day life. At school, with your friends, in your activities, on birthdays ... illness will accompany you wherever you go. By limiting their diet and having to prick themselves several times a day to control glucose, it is normal that they do not feel comfortable. Both children and parents can suffer stress, anxiety and fear for the responsibility that it entails. It's a emotional exhaustion if you don't know how to manage well. Your attitude towards the disease will also affect how the child copes with diabetes.
The first thing to do after a diabetes diagnosis is not blame, since the causes of a child having diabetes are multiple. The second thing to be admit that your child has diabetes. As much as you refuse to accept it, this will not change. When we accept reality we do not spend energy to contradict it. The next thing to do is inform you very well of this disease, how it works and what are the medical follow-ups to be done. Familiarize yourself with the injections and how they are given. Later explain to your son how to do it. Don't be too picky about him. He is a child who does not know what is wrong with him and who suddenly has to prick himself and change his habits. Congratulate him on his small daily accomplishments in his adjustment phase. Each person needs a different time to accept a chronic illness.
Because remember ... it is a disease, but with good medical treatment you can be happy and lead a normal life.