Posts Tagged ‘juvenile diabetes’

New Blood Sugar Meter Rewards Children with Diabetes for Testing Regularly

August 2, 2011 by · 1 Comment
Filed under: Diabetes in Children, Diabetes Monitoring and Supplies 
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Diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases in children, and the incidence of juvenile diabetes is growing. According to the American Diabetes Association, about 215,000 children and youth have diabetes. Most of them are type 1 diabetics, but more children are being diagnosed with type 2. This increase in type 2 diabetes in children is being attributed to poor diet, not enough physical activity, and resulting  weight gain.

A new blood sugar meter designed for kids can actually make glucose testing fun. The Bayer Didget Meter has a five second testing time, a large easy to read screen, and a selectable post meal reminder to prompt children to test their blood sugar levels after eating.

Perhaps its best element is the feature that it adds a fun factor for children who glucose test regularly by rewarding them with free Nintendo DS games. To see a picture of and read more about the Bayer Didget Meter on diabetic live, >CLICK HERE.<

New Recommendations for Diagnosing Diabetes in Children

May 27, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Diabetes in Children, Diabetes Research and News 
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Unfortunately, the easiest way to measure long-term glucose levels to diagnose diabetes in children – the hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) test, may not be the most effective method.

An article in the Journal of Pediatrics comparing HbA1c screening and the fasting plasma glucose test (which must be administered after an 8 hour fast) warns that the HbA1c test is less sensitive in children than it is in adults.

“You don’t want to rely on just this test to diagnose a child with diabetes,” says pediatric endocrinologist Dr. Joyce Lee, “The HbA1c test just doesn’t perform as well in children as it does in adults.”  Lee worries that cases of diabetes in children could be missed, and advices the test be used only in conjunction with other tests to diagnose juvenile diabetes.

The HbA1c test is quite accurate in adults, but it’s believed that changing hormone levels could skew the results in boys and girls. Although more difficult to administer, the glucose tolerance test is still the “gold standard” to detect diabetes in children, says Dr. Gerald Bernstein of the Beth Israel Medical Centre’s Friedman Diabetes Institute.

To read more about the latest information on diagnosing  children with diabetes on WebMD, >CLICK HERE.<

Diabetes in Children: Adjusting to Life with Juvenile Diabetes

March 29, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Diabetes in Children 
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Photo: krisph

It’s hard enough to cope with parenting an adolescent, and if you throw juvenile diabetes into the mix it may feel impossible. Educate yourself; make a plan with your diabetes team, and keep the lines of communication open between you and your child, and you can go back to disagreeing about things like dating and borrowing the car.

Signs and Symptoms

Because of the changes your child will experience with puberty, the signs and symptoms of diabetes in children may be difficult to recognize, so regular check-ups are important. Type 1 diabetes usually shows up at 10 to 12 years of age in girls and around 12 to 14 years of age in boys, but may present earlier or later. Some of the symptoms of juvenile diabetes are: Read the full article

Adjusting to Life With Childhood Diabetes

March 14, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Diabetes in Children 
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Photo: binababy12

It’s hard enough to cope with parenting an adolescent, and if you throw juvenile diabetes into the mix it may feel impossible. Educate yourself, make a plan with your diabetes team, and keep lines of communication open between you and your child, and you can go back to disagreeing about things like dating and borrowing the car.

Signs and Symptoms

Because of the changes your child will experience with puberty, the signs and symptoms may be difficult to recognize, so regular check-ups are important. Type 1 diabetes usually shows up at 10 to 12 years of age in girls and around 12 to 14 years of age in boys, but may present earlier or later. Some of the symptoms of diabetes in children are:  Read the full article

Special Infant Formula May Reduce Risk of Diabetes Antibodies

January 25, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Diabetes in Children, It's Complicated 
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Photo credit: Cylonka

Diabetic parents may want to feed their babies special easily digested infant formula to lessen their risk of developing antibodies associated with type 1 diabetes.  Recent research has shown that particular diabetes antibodies (specialized immune system proteins that detect and attack foreign substances in the body) can be a strong predictor of the eventual onset of type 1 diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which antibodies mistakenly attack and destroy insulin producing islet cells in the pancreas.  No longer able to produce their own insulin, which is necessary to control the blood sugar that is vital to feeding the body’s cells, type 1 diabetics must rely on lifelong insulin injections.
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Children with Diabetes Should be Warned Not To Smoke

January 24, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Diabetes in Children 
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Photo credit: Mattox

Doctors are being urged to ask juvenile diabetes patients about their smoking habits, and to advise them to stop if they are smokers. Diabetes and smoking are both risk factors for cardiovascular disease, which puts diabetics who smoke at particular risk.

But many young people with diabetes report that their doctors have never asked them whether or not they are smokers. Yet about 17% of diabetics aged 15 to 19 smoke.  As 90% of smokers start before the age of 18 (the Journal of Pediatrics reports that 5.5% of children with diabetes aged 10 to 14 in one study were already smokers), the early years are an important time to stress the risk of smoking, especially for diabetes patients.
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