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Childhood Diabetes and Insulin

Goals of children is to be just like everyone else and children diagnosed with diabetes struggle because of the diabetes medication and sometimes the insulin shots that they perceive as the obstacle that makes them different is something the parents must learn to work around. Children who are normally an abundance of never ending energy become quiet and listless. Signs such as this cause alarm with the parents and other brothers and sisters because something is not functioning properly. The kidneys alone can go into a hyper drive to remove any excess or unused sugar and this will lead to dehydration.

The lack of exercise, over eating, inconsistent meal times, living an unhealthy lifestyle and heredity all are factors contributing to more individuals receiving a diagnosis of diabetes. Today the medical community notices a drastic move to younger individuals more so than older individuals do. Searching for the common dominator to pin point the cause and effect has long been in the works. The medical community today is concluding it is a cause and effect of the common lifestyle all individuals are sharing today.

Individual children at one time spent many hours a day playing, walking and sometimes hiking outdoors as this was and still is a form of exercising. Today though far too many children are receiving a diagnosis of diabetes and undergoing diabetes treatments. Perhaps the cause is remaining indoors for too many hours and playing with computer games where only the mind and the fingers are receiving the necessary exercise. It is the body that needs the regular rejuvenation of activity and children today are clueless to the world that resides on the other side of the door.

Insulin with children plays a critical role in keeping their young bodies functioning properly as the children go through their active day. Insulin plays two critical roles in the active cycle of a child. The insulin carries the sugar or glucose, fat and protein into the cells and the converted glucose from food eaten then enters into the bloodstream. The difficulties come on to the scene when children try to avoid the necessary treatments for diabetes which ultimately complicates the situation.

Children diagnosed with diabetes through their family medial physician receive a prescription along with a special diet. The prescription, depending on the severity of the childhood diabetes will be for insulin and at that most likely it is for humulin. There are two types of insulin to control the blood sugar level, but humulin is the better served of the two. The second type of insulin is Lantus, but this type is not for every patient and when children are involved the medical physician prescribes with care and diligence.

Humulin is a prescription geared towards a child and given three times a day in inoculation form usually before each meal. Children, depending upon their age of course must expect to follow a new diet for diabetics rather than a continuation of the foods currently eaten. Some of these new foods will consist of chicken breast, turkey, fish, lean pork, lean steak, fat-free ham, and fat-free Canadian bacon. In the dairy department the recommendation is for egg white, eggbeaters, tofu, non-fat cottage cheese, non-fat cheese, non-fat cream cheese, and non-fat sour cream.

Recommendations in helping young children remain healthy is also to have them eat more green leafy vegetables although they can eat most other vegetables. A rule of thumb to keep in mind as a parent or relative to limit the intake of corn, yellow or orange squash, peas, beets, and carrots because they contain a high carbohydrate, sugar content and this will work against the child. Treating diabetes in general is a difficult task at best, but when children are at the center it is very helpful for the parents to modify their daily diets to coincide with the child to help make the adjustment easier.

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