When babies are born, every parent hopes that they will be absolutely perfect and that they will never have to deal with major illness. For the parents of a small diabetic child, this dream is quickly replaced by the realities of glucose meters, needles, finger sticks, and insulin. However, children are resilient: sometimes much more so than their parents. But it is nonetheless the grownups’ responsibility to help their children cope with diabetes treatment and develop good self-management skills. Here are some quick tips.

–Never deny your child’s feelings: If an injection hurt her, acknowledge that pain and offer her an assurance that you will continue to look for ways to make the process less painful. Denying her legitimate feelings will only confuse her and reinforce her being “different” than others in her family.

–You need to stay calm at all times: A small child will pick up quickly on a parent’s anxiety and become anxious herself. No matter how she reacts to “injection time,” keep as matter-of-fact an attitude as possible and don’t react angrily.

–Use a distraction: For very small children, a distraction may help to focus their attention elsewhere during an injection. Rub her leg firmly while you are injecting her in the arm, for example, or always have her favorite doll on hand for her to squeeze tightly during the process.

–Look for helpful products that will help her feel less “different:” Once she starts interacting with her peers, she’ll be more conscious of her diabetes, especially if she wears the tell-tale medical id bracelet. Instead of having her wear an old-fashioned one, look for beaded as well as other types of designs online: this type of medical id bracelet resembles the ones her friends wear, and she won’t feel so self-conscious.

This is just a snapshot look at a few ways to help your young child cope with diabetes treatment: she will rely on you to lessen her fears and learn to self-manage for the rest of her life.

There are three basic types of diabetes: type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and gestational diabetes. All of these are similar in that they are metabolism disorders involving the pancreas, insulin regulation, and glucose. However, the causes for these types of diabetes are different and therefore they require somewhat different approaches when it comes to treatment.

Type 1 Diabetes

Of all the types of diabetes, type 1 is the most common in children. In fact it is most often diagnosed in children or young adults but it can strike at any age. Type 1 is considered an autoimmune disease because the body destroys the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. Therefore, the pancreas is unable to supply enough insulin to live. A person with type 1 must take insulin every day.

Thankfully, type 1 only accounts for up to ten percent of the types of diabetes cases in the U.S. today. The destruction of the insulin producing cells can happen slowly over time or this condition can develop quite suddenly for reasons that medical scientist do not fully understand. The symptoms of type 1 include increased urination, increased thirst, weight loss, constant hunger, extreme fatigue, blurry vision, and even person with diabetes coma.

Type 2 Diabetes

Of all types of diabetes, type 2 is the most common. Type 2 is linked to obesity, genetics, and physical inactivity. It is estimated that nearly 80 percent of people who have this type of diabetes are overweight. Due to the growing obesity epidemic among children today, type 2 is now being diagnosed among children and teens when it was once primarily seen with older ages.

With type 2, the pancreas produces a sufficient amount of insulin but for one reason or another, the body cannot utilize it. This is called insulin resistance. If this condition is allowed to linger for years, the pancreas begins to produce less and less insulin and the amount of glucose in the blood increases which results in person with diabetes symptoms.

Among the types of diabetes, type 2 has symptoms that develop the slowest. It is a chronic gradual development. The symptoms include frequent urination, frequent hunger, frequent thirst, blurred vision and wounds that are slow to heal. It is even possible to have type 2 and not know it. Treatment for this type of diabetes includes diet, exercise, and medications if necessary including insulin.

Gestational Diabetes

Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes in pregnant women. Gestational diabetes strikes up to eight percent of pregnancies in the U.S. today. It usually goes away after the woman gives birth but indicates she is at a high risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life.

Like other types of diabetes, gestational diabetes is a condition of a shortage of insulin. This could be cause by pregnancy hormones that interfere with its production or utilization. Women who have gestational diabetes may not experience symptoms but if left unchecked, increased glucose levels could cause complications with the pregnancy, delivery, or harm the unborn baby.

These three main types of diabetes require medical attention and proper treatment to prevent serious complications from arising. Diabetes that is untreated could result in blindness, limb amputation, and even death. Diabetes is no longer a disease of old people. It can strike anyone at any age. Thankfully there are many effective forms of treatment available today that make it easier for those with diabetes to lead normal productive lives.

Diabetes mellitus or type 2 diabetes is a disease that is characterized by high blood glucose in the context of insulin resistance and relative insulin deficiency. While it is often initially managed by increasing exercise and dietary modification, medications and external insulin injection are typically needed as the disease progresses. There are an estimated 28 million people in the U.S with diabetes 90% of whom are type 2. With prevalence rates doubling between 1990 and 2005, Centre of Disease Control and Prevention has characterized the increase as an epidemic.

Traditionally considered a disease of adults, type 2 diabetes is increasingly diagnosed in children in parallel to rising obesity rates due to alterations in dietary patterns as well as in life styles during childhood. This is more to do with the high calorie fast food culture, children & teenagers being glued for hours and hours to computers, television and video games.

Unlike type 1 diabetes, there is very little tendency toward ketoacidosis in type 2 diabetes. Ketoacidosis is a type of metabolic acidosis which is caused by high concentrations of ketone bodies, formed by the breakdown of fatty acids and the deamination of amino acids. The main reason to worry about the Diabetes Type 2 is the secondary complications that bis associated with high glucose levels in the blood. Prolonged high glucose levels ion blood can lead to severe and irreparable damage to kidneys, heart, eyes and limbs.

In case of Type 2 Diabetes there are hardly any visible symptoms. In many cases one gets to know that he/she has diabetes only after being screened for smoother ailments or for routine medical insurance check up.

Early symptoms may be nothing more than chronic fatigue, generalized weakness and malaise (feeling of unease). Excessive urine production, excessive thirst and increased fluid intake are also some of the symptoms. Blurred vision, unexplained weight loss, lethargy, itching of external genitalia and excessive bowel movements are also some of the other common symptoms.