overview
- Type 1 diabetes in children is a condition in which your child’s body stops producing an important hormone (insulin). Your child needs insulin to survive. Therefore, the missing insulin should be replaced by injections or an insulin pump. Type 1 diabetes in children was formerly known as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes.
- Diagnosing type 1 diabetes in children can be overwhelming, especially early on. Suddenly, depending on their age, you and your child need to learn how to give injections, count carbohydrates, and monitor blood sugar.
- There is no cure for type 1 diabetes in children, but it can be treated. Advances in monitoring blood sugar and insulin delivery have improved blood sugar management and the quality of life in children with type 1 diabetes.
symptom
The signs and symptoms of type 1 diabetes in children usually develop quickly and can include:
- Increased thirst
- Frequent urination, possibly bed-wetting in a toilet-trained child
- Extreme hunger
- Involuntary weight loss
- Tired
- Irritability or behavior changes
The reasons
- The exact cause of type 1 diabetes is unknown. In most people with type 1 diabetes, the body’s immune system, which normally wards off harmful bacteria and viruses, mistakenly destroys insulin-producing cells (islets) in the pancreas. Genetics and environmental factors seem to play a role.
- After the pancreatic islet cells are destroyed, your child will make little or no insulin. Insulin takes on the essential task of transporting sugar (glucose) from the bloodstream into the body cells. Sugar enters the bloodstream when food is digested.
- Without enough insulin, sugar builds up in your child’s bloodstream where, if left untreated, it can lead to life-threatening complications.
Risk factors
Risk factors for type 1 diabetes in children include:
- Family history. Anyone with a parent or sibling with type 1 diabetes is at a slightly increased risk of developing the disease.
- Genetically. Certain genes indicate an increased risk of type 1 diabetes.
- Run. In the United States, type 1 diabetes is more common in non-Hispanic white children than in children of other races.
- Some viruses. Exposure to various viruses can trigger islet cell autoimmune destruction.
Complications
Type 1 diabetes can affect the most important organs in your body. Keeping your blood sugar close to normal most of the time can greatly reduce the risk of many complications.
Complications can be:
Heart and blood vessel disease. Diabetes increases the risk that your child will develop conditions like narrowed blood vessels, high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke later in life.
Nerve damage. Too much sugar can damage the walls of the tiny blood vessels that feed your child’s nerves. This can cause tingling, numbness, burning, or pain. Nerve damage usually occurs gradually over a long period of time.
Kidney damage. Diabetes can damage the many small clumps of blood vessels that filter waste products from your child’s blood.
Eye damage. Diabetes can damage the blood vessels in the retina, which can lead to impaired vision.
prevention
No way is currently known to prevent type 1 diabetes, but it is a very active area of research. Researchers are working on:
- Prevent type 1 diabetes in people at high risk of developing the disease and recently identify at least one drug that may slow the development of the disease
- Prevent further islet cell destruction in newly diagnosed individuals.