Diabetes

TREATMENT

At diagnosis, the immediate goals of treatment are to treat diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and high blood glucose levels. The sudden onset and severity of symptoms in type 1 diabetes may involve hospitalization.

The long-term goals of treatment are to prolong life, reduce symptoms, and prevent diabetes-related complications such as blindness, kidney failure, and amputation of limbs.

These goals are accomplished through education, insulin use, meal planning and weight control, exercise, foot care, and self-testing of blood glucose levels.

INSULIN

Insulin lowers blood sugar by allowing it to leave the blood stream and enter cells. Everyone needs insulin and people with type I diabetes can't make their own insulin so they must take insulin every day.

Insulin is injected under the skin using a syringe or by an infusion pump that delivers insulin continuously. The injections are needed, generally, from 1 to 4 times a day. Initially, a child's injections may be given by a parent or other adult. By age 14, most children can be expected (but should not be required) to give their own injections.

Insulin preparations differ in how fast they start to work and how long they last. More than one type of insulin may be mixed together in an injection to achieve the best control of blood glucose.

DIET

Kids with diabetes also have to balance the type and timing of the food they eat with the amount of insulin they take and with their activity level. That's because eating some foods will cause blood sugar levels to go up more than others, whereas insulin and exercise will make blood sugar levels go down.

The three main types of nutrients found in foods are carbohydrates (carbs), proteins, and fats, which all provide energy in the form of calories. Foods containing carbohydrates cause blood sugar levels to go up the most. Mismatching carbs and insulin can result in either high or low blood sugar levels.

Your child's diabetes meal plan may also recommend limiting...