Baby diabetes is a common problem that comes across as a shocker for most of the parents. The disease has the ability to rob the precious childhood out of your child. The unfortunate fact is that parents sometimes fail to recognize the symptoms and do not seek medical help. Being naïve, they tend to attribute the lethargy of the one year old to an array of common nutritional factors or influence of the idiot’s box.
Baby diabetes can turn into a life threatening situation at times. The most challenging part is that the baby cannot tell you when it is sick. If the parents try to treat vomiting or flu with the earlier prescribed or commonly available medicines, they might involuntarily overlook the possibilities of baby diabetes. Unlike grown up kids, babies are entirely dependent on the parents for their survival. Since the baby lack the ability to convey its ailments in a comprehensive way, the parents shouldn’t take any chance with its health. Even if it is correctly diagnosed, unflinching dedication is instrumental in keeping the blood sugar in place and aiding the baby in living a healthier life.
There are three common types of diabetes – type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes. A forth type of diabetes can be caused by some genetic disorders or rare medical conditions. But this is not a prevalent type of diabetes. Baby diabetes usually falls under the type 1 category. Half of the people affected by type 1 diabetes are children. Therefore, it is also known as Juvenile diabetes. The appalling fact is that the symptoms will be displayed only after the diabetes has severely affected the body, preventing an early detection. Most of the victims of baby diabetes need to take insulin injections several times a day.
The only way to avoid a critical and potentially lethal situation is timely diagnosis and insulin supplements. Just like adults, babies also experience the usual symptoms like blurry vision, fatigue, tingly feet, or itchy skin; they obviously can’t communicate it. But parents can watch out for other visible behavior. Some of the patterns that should keep the parents’ antenna up are frequent urination, extreme thirst, sudden weight loss, lethargy etc. It is always better to get a simple medical test done and be sure about the situation.
There aren’t any proven methods to prevent the baby diabetes. The parents can still practice some common caveats with the food habits. If your family has a history of celiac disease, the baby may also have the same digestion problem. Starting solid food in the early months can turn out to be a bad decision. It is not advised to start solids until the baby is at least 4 months old. Some babies might not be ready for solid food till they are 7 months old. A safer alternative would be to avoid wheat and other grains and start with fruits and vegetables. With lot of medical help available and the state focus on infant and baby health, seeking a consultation before the decision can be immensely helpful.
Baby diabetes is a prevalent condition and the only way to deal with it to be alert and seek medical intervention at an early stage.
Showing posts with label childhood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label childhood. Show all posts
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
The incidence of childhood diabetes is rising: how to help prevent it
Not so long ago type 2 diabetes, also known as 'adult onset diabetes', afflicted mostly older folks. In fact, diabetes was almost unheard of in children. Today, there are many kids, not even out of grade school, who have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and now carries the moniker 'childhood diabetes'. While doctors previously theorized that older people had an accumulated lifetime of excessive sugar consumption, causing their pancreas to be taxed to a dysfunctional state, where it could no longer satisfactorily manage the amount of insulin in the bloodstream.
Many adult diabetics are overweight and don't get sufficient exercise. Doctors tell their adult patients to lose excess weight and implement a regular program of exercise.
What's confusing about the rise of cases of childhood diabetes is that these children should be too young to have accumulated organ damage to the point of acquiring diabetes. So what's different today than say, 50 years ago?
For one thing, today, kids are far more sedentary than kids of 50 years ago. In some schools, P.E. Is not even required. Kids today are far more likely to take the bus home from school than ride a bike. At home, computers, video games and TV are the standard entertainment venues. As for snacks, well, they've come a long way, baby! While a glass of milk and a cookie or piece of fruit was what Mom handed out 50 years ago, kids today are more likely to have a soda and something heavy on the sugar. Even regular meals are often the 'pop it in the nuke' variety, highly processed, with plenty of sugar and salt added. If you compare the typical profile of the adult diabetes patient with the parameters described above, it's probably worth a look to see how childhood diabetes fits the diet and lifestyle of the adult diabetes patient.
All the extra calories probably have much to do with the high rate of overweight kids we see today. A recent study, conducted at a prestigious health institute, sought to isolate the factors most important in the prevention of diabetes. One of their conclusions was that being overweight exponentially increases the odds of acquiring diabetes and that excess weight was perhaps a greater risk factor than lack of exercise!
Today's kids are used to fast food and ready-made meals, in many cases preferring this type of food to the old-fashioned meals Grandma might prepare. They're fast and easy and they taste good. The problem with this type of eating plan is that, consumed as a steady diet, you will gain weight. Combine this with sodas as the beverage of choice and sweet snacks and you've got a recipe for childhood diabetes.
So what can we do to help prevent childhood diabetes? First, sit down with your kids and talk with them about diabetes. Ask them if they know anyone at school with childhood diabetes. If you have an adult family member with diabetes, discuss some of the health problems that that person has to deal with, including heart and cardiovascular problems, painful nerve damage, kidney dysfunction, vision problems and having to monitor blood sugar levels several times a day. Let them know that you'll be making some gradual changes to their diet. This disease is too serious to ignore. With the incidence of childhood diabetes reaching epidemic proportions, it's just common sense to take steps to prevent this insidious disease with lifelong implications. If you present your information as a scientific lesson and not as a 'punishment', they may be more willing to go along with the program.
Kids want to be healthy. It's up to you to help them stay that way.
Many adult diabetics are overweight and don't get sufficient exercise. Doctors tell their adult patients to lose excess weight and implement a regular program of exercise.
What's confusing about the rise of cases of childhood diabetes is that these children should be too young to have accumulated organ damage to the point of acquiring diabetes. So what's different today than say, 50 years ago?
For one thing, today, kids are far more sedentary than kids of 50 years ago. In some schools, P.E. Is not even required. Kids today are far more likely to take the bus home from school than ride a bike. At home, computers, video games and TV are the standard entertainment venues. As for snacks, well, they've come a long way, baby! While a glass of milk and a cookie or piece of fruit was what Mom handed out 50 years ago, kids today are more likely to have a soda and something heavy on the sugar. Even regular meals are often the 'pop it in the nuke' variety, highly processed, with plenty of sugar and salt added. If you compare the typical profile of the adult diabetes patient with the parameters described above, it's probably worth a look to see how childhood diabetes fits the diet and lifestyle of the adult diabetes patient.
All the extra calories probably have much to do with the high rate of overweight kids we see today. A recent study, conducted at a prestigious health institute, sought to isolate the factors most important in the prevention of diabetes. One of their conclusions was that being overweight exponentially increases the odds of acquiring diabetes and that excess weight was perhaps a greater risk factor than lack of exercise!
Today's kids are used to fast food and ready-made meals, in many cases preferring this type of food to the old-fashioned meals Grandma might prepare. They're fast and easy and they taste good. The problem with this type of eating plan is that, consumed as a steady diet, you will gain weight. Combine this with sodas as the beverage of choice and sweet snacks and you've got a recipe for childhood diabetes.
So what can we do to help prevent childhood diabetes? First, sit down with your kids and talk with them about diabetes. Ask them if they know anyone at school with childhood diabetes. If you have an adult family member with diabetes, discuss some of the health problems that that person has to deal with, including heart and cardiovascular problems, painful nerve damage, kidney dysfunction, vision problems and having to monitor blood sugar levels several times a day. Let them know that you'll be making some gradual changes to their diet. This disease is too serious to ignore. With the incidence of childhood diabetes reaching epidemic proportions, it's just common sense to take steps to prevent this insidious disease with lifelong implications. If you present your information as a scientific lesson and not as a 'punishment', they may be more willing to go along with the program.
Kids want to be healthy. It's up to you to help them stay that way.
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