Diabetes is a disease that can hit at any time of life from childhood to old age.  It can be a scary diagnosis, and it’s certainly not one a parent wants to hear.  Even so, new medical advances are constantly being made that can limit the bad effects of diabetes, and early diagnosis and treatment are always important.

Diabetes is not uncommon among children and teens.  According to the National Institutes of Health (and the National Diabetes Education Program—NDEP) article from which we have drawn much of the information for today’s blog, “About 208,000 young people in the US under age 20 had diabetes in 2012.”  Those numbers are growing.

The disease is classified into two categories, called type 1 and type 2.  Both types mean there is an elevated glucose (sugar) level in the blood, which is caused by problems with insulin production in the pancreas, and/or how that insulin acts on the body.

Type 1 diabetes, though only 5% of all diabetes cases, accounts for nearly all diagnoses in children under age 10.  It’s actually an autoimmune disease, in which the child’s own immune system destroys the beta cells of the pancreas that produce insulin.  (Insulin is the hormone that regulates the metabolism of carbohydrates, including sugars, and fats.)

Usually, symptoms of type 1 diabetes don’t appear until the disease has destroyed most of the beta cells.  According to the same article cited above, “Early symptoms, which are mainly due to hyperglycemia, include increased thirst and urination, constant hunger, weight loss, and blurred vision. Children also may feel very tired.”  If you are suspicious that your child has type 1 diabetes, seek medical attention immediately.

So far, there is no cure, but type 1 diabetes is managed through careful monitoring of blood sugar levels, and insulin administration by pump or injection.  The amount and timing of insulin doses is determined by taking into account food and beverage intake, physical activity, and the presence of any illness.  This management must be under the care of a physician who understands diabetes.

There are many ongoing studies into type 1 diabetes.  Perhaps in the not-too-distant future there will be a cure, or at least a way of pre-determining who is at risk and finding ways to treat the disease before it has destroyed the body’s ability to produce its own insulin.  The future is promising.

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