What Is Juvenile Or Type 1 Diabetes ?

It is the desire of all parents that their children should be healthy and lead a long normal life. However with changing food habits and easy lifestyle being followed by all humans, there is a tendency to become disease prone.

A study has shown that quite a few juveniles suffer from diabetes. The diabetes of children is called Type 1 Diabetes or Juvenile Diabetes. With passage of time the incidence of juvenile diabetes in kids is increasing.

Though the causes behind juvenile diabetes are not yet confirm still, type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition which occurs when immune system of body attacks wrongly to the insulin producing cells of pancreas.

The moment the parents come to know that their child is diabetic they gets distressed, but they should remember that though this is not a curable disease, by proper monitoring, restraints and medication the patient can lead an almost normal life. However, in the absence of control on food and lack of regulated medication the child is going to face the consequences when grown up.

The adverse medical effects which a person is likely to face from juvenile diabetes can include the following:

In a diabetic person the level of glucose in the blood increases. Kidneys act as filter of the body and remove excess unwanted constituents of blood. These are discarded by the body through urine. In case of excess glucose in blood the kidneys have to work overtime or excessively to clear glucose to maintain the desired sugar level. This excessive working leads to kidney failure and the consequences of this are known to all. This may require kidney replacement or dialysis for cleaning of blood.

Excess sugar in blood also affects the eyesight of a person. Slowly the eyesight gets reduced and ultimately, during later part of life, the person suffering from uncontrolled diabetes can get blind. Likewise is the effect on heart. Diabetics are more prone to getting heart attack. Diabetes also affects the life expectancy. If diabetes is not controlled from the juvenile stage, the life expectancy can be reduced by about 10 years. Worst of all, healing of wounds of those suffering from diabetes is quite difficult. In case of an accident, the patient may bleed to death. Surgery if needed to be done has to be undertaken with a lot of caution.

To ensure that juvenile diabetes is under control, the moment it is detected the parents should immediately draw up a detailed plan for the patient in consultation with the doctors. The plan should include, monitoring of glucose levels, medication schedule, diet plan of the patient, and exercise schedule.

If this is properly followed the child will be able to lead a normal life and as he will grow up he will be cautious about his health himself.