The vital step after your child is diagnosed with juvenile diabetes is to develop a support
network in the community. Your childs school should be at the top of this as a resource
to tap into. Not only is it essential that the teachers at your childs school know about his
special dietary needs and what to do in an emergency they can provide help in other ways
too.
In addition to good control of blood glucose levels to ensure the current and future well-
being of your childs health, good control of diabetes is critical to learning. When a child
is experiencing highs or lows in the blood sugar reading this can create disruptions and
make it hard for them to concentrate and learn.
The teachers or other support personnel are going to need instruction for handling your
childs diabetes and what to do in case of an emergency. For a child with a low blood
sugar it is important that their blood glucose level is checked and that they have
something to eat. For a child with a high blood sugar, their blood glucose will need to be
checked too and a decision has to be made whether or not to give insulin. This is a big
responsibility to hand over to another adult and can be nerve-racking for parents.
An emergency kit should be with your child at all the time with instructions on what to
do to help if something is wrong. Included should be a snack, a food item or glucose
tablet that is fast acting (gets sugar into the system quickly), a list of emergency numbers
to call, and a glucose monitor. A teacher or school nurse should be designated as the
person responsible for your child while at school and they should have a back-up in case
they are not present for a day or more.
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In many children with juvenile diabetes a period occurs shortly after being diagnosed
they go through what is commonly called as the honeymoon period. This is a time when
your childs blood sugar levels will return to normal without the aid of additional insulin.
It is important to remember that this happens in a lot of children and does not mean that
the disease has gone away. The pancreas is still trying to do its job and is working
overtime to make insulin for your childs body. Following are some guidelines to follow
when this happens.
The length of the honeymoon period is not the same for everyone. In one child it can last
months while in another child it can feasibly last for over a year. It all depends on how
much insulin your childs pancreas can produce and how long it can keep up that rate of
production. It will be hard to figure out how much if any insulin your child needs during
this time when their blood sugar levels are normal. Constant monitoring of the blood
glucose levels is still required, because you will not know when the honeymoon period is
over otherwise.
Keep in close contact with your health care provider. He or she will help in determining
what the best plan is to follow during the honeymoon phase. Some may even want you to
give minute amounts of insulin daily in order to keep your child used to the injections and
your childs body accustomed to the additional insulin it will need.
It can be emotionally hard for your child during the honeymoon phase. Everything will
seem back to normal and they are going to want to resume their life like it was prior to
diagnosis. It is important to remain on the diabetic diet and continue monitoring during
this time.
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An emergency or first aid kit can be found in almost any home. But in a home where a child lives with juvenile diabetes there needs to be additional supplies for their needs. In addition to an at-home emergency kit, a child with diabetes should carry a portable kit with supplies with them at all times.
There are going to be times when your child is going to need help to manage their diabetes and it may be an emergency situation because their blood sugar has dropped dangerously low. Your child should be wearing identification that advises everyone that they are diabetic and are taking insulin and a kit with the supplies needed to help them.
The kit should include instructions on what to do in case of an emergency and numbers to call (parents and health care providers). In addition glucose tablets, fast-acting food stuff should be included to raise your childs blood sugar quickly. Good examples of these are juice boxes and hard candies. You should include a snack that is considered long-acting too. Something that will keep for a long time such as a granola bar is a convenient item to have. This is for situations where your child should be eating their next meal but unavoidably does not have access to food (in the car during a traffic jam or out with friends).
For your home emergency kit, you should include a means to keep your childs insulin cold in the case of a prolonged power outage. A small cooler will work nicely for this. It is also a good idea to always have extra insulin on hand. Do not wait until you are out to pick up more, you never know when an emergency can happen that would prevent your from getting some be prepared.
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