Diabetes is a lifelong disease. It is difficult enough for adults to be diagnosed with it, let alone children. This is why parents of children with diabetes need to exert more attention, patience, and care. Children diagnosed with diabetes have special needs, they also need to be looked after more often and they need to be monitored, especially when they eat.
The whole family will need to adjust and change the routine. Although your lives will change, you will be more comfortable as time goes by. And even though your child has this disease, it does not mean that there are limits to what your child can do.
Needs of children with diabetes
Once your child is diagnosed with diabetes, the first thing that you need to change is his diet. Your child needs to eat healthy foods that are low in sugar, this can be monitored at home but it can be challenging as soon as your child goes out. This is why your child's teachers, babysitters, and relatives should be informed about the diagnosis so that they can help you out in looking after your child.
Children with diabetes also need to eat snacks and fruits throughout the day in order to balance out their blood sugar and to maintain it at a normal level. They should be also encouraged to exercise. You and your child can go for a walk around the neighborhood, go to the park, play ball or you can sign him up for this favorite sport. Your child can be as active as other children, but since the blood sugar decreases during exercise, it is better to bring snacks so your child can maintain a normal blood sugar level.
A regular check-up is also needed. Your child's doctor will monitor his blood sugar level and if needed, the doctor will prescribe medicine to make sure that all vital signs are normal.
How to care for your child
All hospitals offer educational courses for parents whose child has just been diagnosed with diabetes. You will be taught how to manage this new situation in your family. You need to check and adjust the blood glucose levels of your child, and checking it can go up to 12 times a day. The amount of insulin that your child needs will all depend on his meals when he ate, and the activities that your child did throughout the day.
Although it can be confusing at first because it involves calculation, it will eventually get easier with practice. Insulin is given through shots or pumps. You will be taught the basics of using an EpiPen.
Doctors say that the key to surviving diabetes is control. If your child is diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, he can still eat sweets, as long as it is tracked and in moderation. If your child gets sick, you need to pay special attention to him because blood sugar levels change drastically. You also need to make sure that your child gets 8 hours of sleep and drinks 8 to 10 glasses of water every day.
Around 210,000 people under the age of 20 are diagnosed with diabetes, and that is in America alone. If your child is diagnosed with diabetes, there will be a lot of adjustments to make, but with proper care, your child can still live his life as normal as possible.
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