Living with Childhood Diabetes
Living with a child with childhood diabetes can be just as tough as being the child who is diagnosed with it. Managing pediatric diabetes is not easy for children and their parents, but being informed is half the battle. Once you understand what to expect from your child’s pediatric diabetes, you might find yourself empowered and better prepared to manage its many symptoms.
Types 1 Diabetes
Children can get Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. While both forms continue to be more frequently diagnosed, Type 1 continues to be the predominant form in youth. Children who are diagnosed with Type 1 will need to start receiving medical care immediately and will have to learn to administer exogenous insulin as they get older.
Type 1 is typically characterized by fatigue, weight loss, having to frequently urinate, and behavioral or mood alterations (such as irritability). Some children tend to have decreased academic and behavioral performances at school due to how diabetes makes them feel. Girls are prone to developing yeast infections. Also, since fluids might get drained from the eyes in order when blood sugar levels are elevated, your child might experience blurred vision.
Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is more frequently associated with adults, but it is being diagnosed in children. Type 2 tends to gradually develop, meaning that your child might not show signs right away. In fact, many children with Type 2 diabetes end up getting diagnosed during routine physicals.
Symptoms for Type 2 are somewhat similar to Type 1. Kids with Type 2 might need to frequently urinate, lose weight, feel chronically fatigued, and experience blurred vision. One key difference is that those with Type 2 tend to have wounds, sores, and infections that take exponentially longer to heal than they ideally should.
How to Manage Your Child’s Symptoms
One of the most important ways which you as a parent can start helping your child manage their symptoms is to familiarize yourself with their illness. By coming together as a family to educate the entire family unit, you can start to develop a management method.
Paying attention to your child’s blood glucose is crucial when you are trying to manage their diabetes symptoms. In terms that your child can understand, explain to them what blood sugar is and why theirs is different from that in people who don’t have diabetes. Not only will this mean having to monitor blood sugar levels and inject insulin, but your child will also have to adapt to a diabetes-friendly diet. Making schools aware of your child’s diabetes is also critical since management has to occur both inside and outside of the home.
Paying attention to your child’s blood glucose is crucial when you are trying to manage their diabetes symptoms. In terms that your child can understand, explain to them what blood sugar is and why theirs is different from that in people who don’t have diabetes. Not only will this mean having to monitor blood sugar levels and inject insulin, but your child will also have to adapt to a diabetes-friendly diet. Making schools aware of your child’s diabetes is also critical since management has to occur both inside and outside of the home.
If you have a childhood suffering from diabetes but don’t have health insurance, be sure to use our Health Insurance Finder to help you find the best health insurance in your area.
Resources:
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4596120/
- http://www.diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/parents-and-kids/
