Here are definitions of medical terms related to diabetes in children. Endocrinologist: A physician who specializes in the endocrine system, which is the network of glands and other structures that secrete hormones and affect the function of certain organs. Finger stick: The act of puncturing the tip of the finger to get a small sample of blood. […]
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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
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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
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Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a disorder in the way the body gets energy from food. It occurs: When there isn’t enough insulin, a hormone made by the pancreas that is essential for using food properly, or When the insulin the body makes doesn’t work normally Glucose is a sugar that results from the digestion
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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
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Glucose, a sugar that results from the digestion of food, is the body’s main nourishment. During pregnancy, your body also supplies your baby with glucose, which is delivered through the placenta and is your baby’s only source of nourishment. The placenta also makes certain hormones to help the baby develop. But these hormones make it
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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
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In women with gestational diabetes and type 2 diabetes, the sugar (glucose) in your blood directly affects the size of your baby. If your blood sugar level is high, the baby gets too much nourishment and overgrows. This can lead to a condition called macrosomia or “fat” baby. Macrosomia causes problems for both you and
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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
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The goal in treating diabetes is to keep blood sugar levels as normal as possible. That usually involves: Daily blood glucose monitoring Taking insulin Following a special diet Following an exercise program It’s normal to feel stressed during pregnancy. Diabetes creates additional stresses. You have to see your doctor more often than women without diabetes,
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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
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