Child Diabetes: Know more about it The inability of the pancreas to produce insulin is 85% of the cause of child diabetes. It is not a common disease but over the last 30 years research has shown that the number of cases of child diabetes increased a three-fold. This type of diabetes is also known as the Type 1 diabetes. It is classified as an autoimmune disease. An autoimmune disease is a condition that occurs in our body wherein the immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys healthy body tissues. Children who have child diabetes have insulinproducing cells in the pancreas that are destroyed. Similarly with adults etiology of this disease is uncertain, it may probably be the combination of both the environment and the genes. Symptoms of child diabetes may include thirst, weight loss, tiredness, and frequent urination. There could also be visible signs of tummy pains, headaches and behavioral problems. Kids with diabetes tend to be irritable. If these signs are visible with your child right now, seek doctor’s advice immediately. If your child is diagnosed with diabetes, he needs a specialist in childhood diabetes. Diabetes in children needs special supervision and care. They may need an insulin treatment which is done under the clock. Insulin is a naturallyoccurring hormone secreted by the pancreas. Insulin is required by the cells of the body in order for them to remove and use glucose from the blood. During the first year of the diagnosis, the child may be given just a small dose of insulin. It would gradually increase over time as many complications of diabetes may occur. Aside from the insulin treatment, a good glucose control and avoidance of hypos are important. Even though this is an illness that kids acquire, parents maybe the most affected by this illness. Families could have an inconsiderable amount of strain and the discomfort of taking care of patients with this kind of disease would be taking its toll on the early stages of the illness. It will require a lot of patience and understanding on their part of the parents. This is the very reason why being knowledgeable about child diabetes is important. Learning how to handle patients with this disease could be beneficial to both the parents and the child as well. What must parents do in situations like this? First, they must learn the ropes on how to administer insulin injection; Insulin is usually injected into the skin over the abdomen or thigh. Parents must also learn the causes of low blood glucose. They must learn how to measure the glucose level and teach the child how to when he gets old enough. It is also a must to teach the kid how to inject himself with insulin when needed. The age of nine is a typical age to teach the child the ropes. Information about the child’s illness especially around school is of utmost importance. Physical activity is also very important for diabetic people so encourage your kid to exercise daily. It is understandable though that physical activity lowers blood sugar levels, so if your kid is taking insulin, you might as well lower the dose of insulin intake. A combination of too much insulin and physical activity could lower the blood sugar levels so make sure that kids with diabetes must be secure sugar with him. In cases of emergencies seek medical advice immediately. A child with diabetes will have to live longer with the condition than those who would have it later in life. It may be a stressful kind of illness, but it is not something that someone should dread about as long as proper precautions are being taken cared of.