What A Parent Should Know To Manage Juvenile Diabetes

When your child has been diagnosed with diabetes, it can cause you to be upset and worry. It can overwhelm you. However, you have to be strong for your child. The best thing you can do is learn all you can about this condition in children and how you can help your child cope with it.

Juvenile diabetes is also known as Type 1 diabetes in children. This happens when the pancreas can no longer produce insulin. You will need to replace the insulin in your child. This means you will need to learn how give your child insulin injections. If your child is old enough, you will need to teach your child how to give shots to himself. Insulin can also be delivered by an insulin pump. The pump is about as big as a cell phone. Your child wears this on the outside of his body. A reservoir of insulin is connect to a catheter by a tube. The catheter is inserted under the abdomen's skin.

You will also need to learn how to monitor the level of blood sugar. The frequency depends on what the doctor prescribed. Usually, it is about three times day. Testing the glucose level usually requires a finger prick. Regular checking and monitoring is necessary to ensure that your child's blood sugar level is within the acceptable range. This range will change as your child's body changes and matures. Keep a record of the readings and bring it to every doctor's visit. Some doctors will just download the data from the glucose meter.

It is all the more important now to make sure that your child eats a healthy diet. There is really nothing special that he has to eat. He should plenty of fresh vegetables, fruits and whole grains. Food should be low in fat and high in nutrients. Minimize junk food that only give empty calories. You can allow your child to have a small occasional treat, but you must watch carefully how that will cause a spike in his sugar level. Every child is different. By monitoring how each type of food he eats affects his sugar level, you will get a better picture of how to make adjustments.

These extra responsibilities can be taxing on you. There will days when you feel absolutely overwhelmed. Remember that there are other parents who are going through the same thing. Find a support group that brings parents like you together. You will get a chance to hear about the experiences of other parents, and be able to express your own. You may learn some tips to handle certain situations. Just being around a group of parents who know exactly what you are experiencing will be helpful in your efforts to cope.

Teach your child how to manage his condition. Provide him with lots of encouragement to keep his spirits high.

Diabetes is a serious condition, but it does not have to take over your child's life. Remember the advice from this article, and continue your education. You and your child will be just fine as you make this journey together.