“If your child has these symptoms, you can get their blood sugar checked at your local clinic or pharmacy.
- More than 600 000 children are estimated to have Type 1 diabetes worldwide.
- Children can be diagnosed from as young as a few months old.
- A local advocate shares the warning signs of childhood diabetes and how to cope after a diagnosis.
It’s not a health condition usually associated with the young, but diabetes does affect children and can occur from infancy onwards.
According to the most recent IDF Diabetes Atlas report, which pools data from 170 countries, it is estimated that 600,900 children younger than 15 have Type 1 diabetes worldwide and that more than 90 000 children develop Type 1 diabetes every year.
It’s a conversation parents should be having, especially since the signs of childhood diabetes “can be easy to miss or explain away” says Bridget McNulty, co-founder of the NPO the Sweet Life Diabetes Community.
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‘Triggered by the wrong kind of food’
Type 1 diabetes is typically diagnosed before the age of 25; McNulty says, however, Type 2 diabetes, more common among adults, is also on the rise among children.
“Type 2 diabetes used to be diagnosed predominantly in adults, but more and more children are being diagnosed these days. It is known as a lifestyle condition because it can be triggered by the wrong kind of food, not enough physical activity, and carrying too much weight. But there is a strong hereditary component as well. If diagnosed early enough, Type 2 diabetes can be reversed – thereafter it can be managed with tablets (usually Metformin) and later insulin”.
In spotting the onset of diabetes, McNulty says symptoms include:
- Weight loss
- Extreme thirst
- Extreme hunger
- Needing to pee a lot, especially at night
- Exhaustion
“If your child has these symptoms, you can get their blood sugar checked at your local clinic or pharmacy. It’s a simple fingerstick blood test, and you’ll know within five minutes if the results are normal or if you need follow-up tests to confirm diabetes,” McNulty says.
Also see: Waffles and Mochi: Why children’s food shows need to focus on healthy eating
‘Focus on the basics’
While it’s an automatic reaction to receiving bad news about your child’s health, McNulty advises not to panic if you learn that your child has diabetes.
“It’s easy to feel overwhelmed, and that’s an appropriate reaction to your child being diagnosed with a chronic condition, but you and your child will be fine… there are so many others who have been where you are now.”
In addition to researching appropriate medical care for your child in the form of a, “… good diabetes doctor”, McNulty also urges parents to, “… focus on the basics” of TEEL, a useful acronym to follow when first learning about how to live with diabetes.
Here’s what TEEL stands for, according to McNulty:
Take your medication as prescribed: inject into a new spot each time.
Eat healthy food: aim for half a plate of green, leafy vegetables at lunch and dinner. Many parents find low carb works well for them.
Exercise a little each day: just a half-hour walk.
Lose weight if you need to: this won’t apply to kids with Type 1 diabetes, but it may apply to kids with Type 2 diabetes.
“It is possible to live a long, healthy, happy life with diabetes – there is nothing diabetes [means your child has] to stop your child from doing. I’ve been living with Type 1 for 14 years, and I’ve travelled the world, hiked, scuba dived, had two healthy children and live a perfectly normal, healthy life”.
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