Precautions To Take For Diabetes In Children
Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes in children is a grave reality today. With more and more children and teenagers detected with diabetes, it becomes imperative to take up the necessary measures to look out for early type 1 and type 2 diabetes symptoms.
Type 1 diabetes cause is still not clear, but mostly it’s linked to genetics and environmental factors. The body’s immune system destroys the insulin-producing (islet) cells in the pancreas. Insulin’s job is to move the sugar (glucose) from the bloodstream to its cells. Sugar enters the bloodstream when food is digested, increasing blood sugar levels.
Type 2 diabetes until recent years was hardly detected in children. It is mainly an on-set of obese and overweight in children. Your body is insulin-resistant in Type 2 diabetes. Insulin is produced, but it fails to move the sugar from the bloodstream to body cells.
Early Detection
In Type 1 diabetes, your child will start showing signs of increased thirst, fatigue, frequent urination, bedwetting, weight loss, behavioral changes, and fruit-smelling breath.
Type 2 diabetes shows the symptoms mentioned above, and eye vision blurredness and darkened skin areas, especially around the neck and armpits. Remember, if your baby is obese or overweight, you should check the family history of diabetes from both the mother and father’s sides.
It’s crucial to detect the condition early on to prevent any further worsened condition.
Causes of Diabetes
- Genetics and family history play a significant role.
- Overweight and obese in Children.
- Pre-mature birth, mainly before 39 to 42 weeks gestation, has more chances of Type 2 diabetes
- Diabetes is found more in certain races or ethnicity. A white child of Non-Hispanic descent, Black, American Indian, and Asian American people are a few examples.
- Low birth weight and mother having gestational diabetes also play a role.
- Inactivity in children is a crucial reason for Type 2 diabetes.
Prevention and Precautionary steps
- Awareness in parents can prevent your child by early detecting diabetes of any kind.
- Proper medication through a qualified doctor can also relieve your child’s unnecessary complications like high cholesterol, heart, blood vessel disease, Stroke, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, kidney disease, blindness, and amputation.
- Eating healthy food at all times is a must. Go for fatty fish, leafy greens, avocados, eggs, chia seeds, beans, greek yogurt, nuts, extra virgin olive oil, broccoli, flaxseeds, apple cider vinegar, strawberries, garlic, squash, shirataki noodles in your child’s daily food chart.
- Your child cannot afford to laze around. That will only increase his sugar levels. Regular workout and exercise is the only way to fight diabetes.
- Drink at least 10 – 12 glasses of water every day.
- Cut sugar and refined carbs from your kid’s diet.
- Eat small portions of food rather than eating large amounts of food at once.
Both Type 1 and Type 2 might take a toll on your child if the proper steps are taken at the right time. Make your child understand the importance of a healthy lifestyle and how it can benefit him/ her for a lifetime.
