Childhood Diabetes

The body's inability to create sufficient amounts of insulin can result in diabetes. Three prominent types are Type 1, Type 2 and Gestational. Type 1 is most common in children under the age of sixteen; 90-95% with Diabetes suffers from Type 1. Type 1 is classified as an autoimmune disease. Basically, this means that the body's immune system attacks its own healthy tissues and organs.

Childhood diabetes is not common, but over the last few decades, there has been a huge increase in the number of cases all around the world. Quick rising trends such as obesity plays a significant role in the number of cases of Diabetes in children. Obesity can explain the rise in Type 2, but does not explain the increase in Type 1 which is making up the majority. Same with adults, child diabetes is unexplainable. Doctors and researchers believe it may involve a combination environmental triggers and genes, although many of the children who developed Type 1 do not have a family history of Diabetes.

Main symptoms for children are the same as those in adults; weight loss, frequent urination, fatigue and thirst. The symptoms tend to come on over the period of a few weeks. The symptoms that tend to show up in children and not adults are behavior problems, headaches and stomach aches. Children diagnosed with this awful disease will most likely be treated at a hospital, seeing as they will need regular insulin treatments, planned by a diabetes team.

A healthy balanced diet and a strict routine will keep glucose levels balanced. Exercise is also important for a child with or without diabetes. Exercise and other physical activities lower blood sugar levels. Children who take insulin and exercise regularly may need to decrease the dose. In the long run, children who suffer from Diabetes will live longer than an adult who develops it. The longer the disease is present, the higher the risk for serious complications, affecting vital organs such as the kidneys and the eyes. These complications can start after puberty, but are more of a concern later on in one's life.