Diabetes in Children
By Brittany S Bruggeman , MD , FAAP Assistant Professor | Pediatric Endocrinology UF Health Shands Children ’ s Hospital
One of the best parts of my job is caring for kids ’ medical needs while also having a blast at the Florida Diabetes Camp each July . At the camp , children with diabetes get to be their best selves , enjoying paddling on the lake , having s ’ mores by the fire and gaining the confidence and skills to achieve their full potential while living life with diabetes . A typical day in their camp life includes :
• Checking their blood sugar a minimum of 10 times per day ( and often much more ), including middle-ofthe-night checks
• Counting every carbohydrate that they eat , calculating insulin doses and giving an injection or pump bolus a minimum of four times per day ( but often many more times )
• Dealing with the many different factors that can affect blood sugar including sleep , stress , exercise , dehydration , medication interactions , puberty and the Florida heat
• Managing the inevitable high and low blood sugars
• All while living life as a preteen kid , with all of the relationship dramas , hormones , learning and growing involved in this exciting time .
Children with diabetes are dealing with a lot , and they manage to do so while also accomplishing great things in their life . While children with diabetes and their families have to deal with the brunt of the burden that comes with living with diabetes , there are ways that we can help . During this Diabetes Awareness Month , here are a few things that we can all do to support children with diabetes and their families
1 .
Educate yourself about the causes of diabetes
Diabetes affects about 1 in 300 children and adolescents in the United States . It is a result of the body either not making enough insulin or not being able to use insulin properly . Insulin is a hormone that allows your body to use carbohydrates as fuel . When it ’ s not working , carbohydrates are broken down into sugar ( glucose ), which builds up in the blood and urine while fat is used as an alternate energy source . In most children and adolescents , diabetes is caused by an autoimmune attack against the cells in the pancreas that make insulin . Even though the body ’ s immune system is designed to fight off foreign invaders like bacteria and viruses , it mistakenly starts to destroy these cells . This is called type 1 diabetes . In another situation , an adolescent ’ s body is making high levels of insulin , but the body is not able to use it appropriately . Eventually , the pancreas tires out , and then these adolescents also don ’ t make enough insulin . This is called type 2
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