Interactive Learning Tool for Diabetic Children

"Jerry the Bear" is an interactive learning tool for children diagnosed with type 1 diabetes that enables them to master their medical procedures through play



Jerry the Bear was designed by Hannah Chung and Aaron Horowitz and is the first product of their company Sproutel. 

Learn more at: www.sproutel.com

Children and Type 2 Diabetes

The number of teens living with type 2 diabetes has increased in recent years. 

Managing diabetes as a teen or adolescent can come with different challenges than an adult may face. The materials below were developed specifically for teens with diabetes. 

Be Healthy Today; Be Healthy For Life

Information for Youth and Their Families Living With Type 2 Diabetes




You can read, download or print the entire PDF document (32 pages) or access it by section:
Entire 32-page booklet (984 KB PDF)











What's Included - By Section

• Table of Contents
• What Is Diabetes?
• Manage Your Diabetes with STAR
• Checking Blood Sugar
• Staying Healthy
• Taking Care of Diabetes with Medicines
• Low Blood Sugar (Hypoglycemia) and  High Blood Sugar (Hyperglycemia)
• Healthy Food Choices
• Choosing Lower-Fat Foods
• How to Read Food Labels
• Physical Activity
• Setting Goals, Problem Solving, and Managing Stress
• Being a Teen with Diabetes

Glossary
The Be Healthy Today; Be Healthy For Life materials were adapted from the TODAY (Treatment Options for Type 2 Diabetes in Adolescents and Youth) Study. This study was funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease of the National Institutes of Health.

Source: Diabetes.org

See also: Preventing Type 2 in Children

Timing of Baby's First Solid Food Tied to Diabetes

Among children already at higher risk for type 1 diabetes, missing the sweet spot for introduction of solid foods may increase the risk even further 

 Photo Credit: MedPage Today 

Action Points 

• In children with an increased genetic risk of type 1 diabetes mellitus, both early and late first exposure to any solid food predicted development of the disease. 

• The data suggest the safest age to introduce solid foods in children at increased genetic risk for type 1 diabetes is between 4 and 5 months of age. 

Read full article 

Ray Allen Joins ‘Morning Joe’ to Discuss Diabetes Funding

Miami Heat shooting guard Ray Allen joined MSNBC’s Morning Joe yesterday morning to discuss his testimony scheduled for tomorrow before the Senate Special Committee on aging.

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Allen will be making a case that more funding is needed for Type 1 Diabetes research. The 2-time NBA champion’s 6-year-old son, Walker has Type 1 Diabetes.

“Being a father, we fight every single day to try to find a way, to find a cure because everyday people are living with this disease,” he said.

“Starting back in ’99, they started this children’s Congress and the kids wanted the voice,” Allen added.  ”They wanted to go into DC and let the politicians know, the lawmakers know that they want them to be heard. They want their voices to be spoken up in front of Congress.”

In response to what he hopes to do with his influence as a famous basketball player, Allen said, “First and foremost we want people to understand what Diabetes is all about because it is a deadly disease. Kids, adults live with it all around the world and are healthy with it. What we want to accomplish is, we want to make sure that Congress continues to renew these funds that are allocated for the JDRF because this funding is important for these scientists to continue research every single year.”

Source: The Grio

Birth Order May Raise Rise of Diabetes or High Blood Pressure

Study finds reduced insulin effectiveness, high blood pressure in first-born children

Long a source of sibling rivalry, birth order may raise the risk of first-born children developing diabetes or high blood pressure

According to this recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM) - First-born children have greater difficulty absorbing sugars into the body and have higher daytime blood pressure than children who have older siblings.

The study was conducted at the University of Auckland's Liggins Institute in New Zealand, and is the first to  document a 21% drop in insulin sensitivity among first-born children.

Read more

Ray Allen’s Wife Tells How Diabetes Nearly Killed Their Son

The latest addition to the Miami Heat is Ray Allen.  

What you may not know about the team’s newest star is how close he came to losing one of the most important people in his life, his shining light: his young son.

Walker Allen is five years old, and just like his father, he loves basketball.  He’s constantly in motion, barely sitting still long enough to check his blood sugar level, something he needs to do.  Walker has Type 1 Diabetes which means his body doesn’t produce insulin.

The nightmare began during the 2008 NBA Finals.  Ray’s Boston Celtics were facing the Los Angeles Lakers.

View Video And Read Rest of the Article Here

Children Living With Type 1 Diabetes

500 kids in the United States suffer from type 1 diabetes. 

Six year old Eden Speaks suffers from Type 1 diabetes, which occurs when your body stops making insulin. She attends kindergarten, and all too often, her classmates ask her the same question. 

"They ask what the pink thing is on my side, but I tell them a pump," said Eden. "They ask the same question over and over again sometimes." 

Eden was diagnosed with diabetes when she was 4 years old, and her mother Brittany said, she clearly remembers the day it happened. 

"She was sitting watching television and just seemed lethargic, like, just staring at the wall, wouldn't even respond to us," said Brittany. When they got to the hospital, Eden's blood sugar was close to 500. For a child her age, Brittany said it's supposed to be between 80 and 120. 

For Eden, that's something she said is just another part of her daily life. "When my mom and dad stopped taking my shots, I learned how to do it myself, and I wasn't scared," said Eden. 

Full aritcle: Wlfi.com

Diabetic Alert Dog

Virginia-based Guardian Angel Service Dogs, which specializes in training alert dogs for diabetics..

Headed by Dan Warren, who suffers from type 1 diabetes and trained service dogs in the U.S. Marine Corps, Guardian Angel dogs complete an 8-phase training program where they learn to understand human scent and thus can detect whether a person has high or low blood sugar — sometimes 20 to 45 minutes before a spike or drop occurs. 

Murphy noted that when a person's blood sugar is high, he or she emits a sweet smell that is often undetected by humans — but dogs can smell it. When a diabetic's blood sugar is low, the body releases a smell of acetone.

"We custom-tailor the program for each individual's severity, age, [and] geographic location," among other variables, Warren said. The dogs are also trained to fetch glucose tablets, insulin supplies, and other essentials for diabetics.

Read Story : Family hopes diabetic alert dog will help boy live normal life - By Jaime Rebhan - Wareham, MA - Wareham Week VillageSoup

Children and Diabetes Treatment

Children and Diabetes Treatment
By Don A Mann

The Study of Diabetes in Children


SEARCH is a study of diabetes in children that was done from 2002 to 2007. Over 9.000 children across the nation participated in the study. Participants were all diabetics under the age of 20. SEARCH for Diabetes in Children was conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in conjunction with the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

There were several goals of SEARCH. Some of the more noted goals were to determine the number of diabetic children and how diabetes in children was portioned according to ethnicity. Additionally, SEARCH wanted to identify how diabetes was affecting children in their daily lives, how the different types of treatments used were working and to identify common complications.

Many interesting statistics arose for the data collected that give doctors, scientists and pharmaceutical companies a better understanding of diabetes in children. The study showed that 215,000 children under twenty years of age have been diagnosed with diabetes. The mountain of data collected through this study helps researchers and health providers a great deal of beneficial knowledge for managing diabetes.

Help Prevent Type 2 in Children


While Type 1 diabetes is not preventable at the current time, Type 2 diabetes can be prevented in both children and adults. In terms of preventing diabetes in children, the job is up to parents and caregivers.

Those who plan a child's meal are responsible for providing a nutritionally balanced and beneficial diet for the child. Children all too often want what tastes good over what is good for them. It's up to parents caregivers to be mindful of the types of foods the child eats and the amounts of each type of food they eat.

Exercise is another way of warding off Type 2 diabetes and parents are wise to insisted on physical play time. Children should be encouraged to join in physical activities such as sports, riding bikes or swimming. Keeping a child's weight down will help prevent Type 2 diabetes and the child will be happier.

Treating Gestational Diabetic Women


While pregnancy is typically a joyous time, there are complications that can arise. You should be checked for gestational diabetes between your 6th and 7th month of pregnancy. Treating gestational diabetes will prevent you and the baby from experiencing problems for the duration of the pregnancy.

The first step in treating gestational diabetes is controlling your diet. Most women are given a 2,200 to 2,500 calorie diet that contains proper nutrition to sustain you and your growing baby. Your healthcare professional will help you balance your diet between protein, fat, and carbohydrates.

Exercise is another step in treating this disease. It uses up extra glucose in the body and also combats insomnia, constipation, and depression, conditions that can occur during pregnancy. Not all exercise is safe for expectant mothers, so get clearance from your doctor if you aren't sure if your regimen is safe.

If diet and exercise aren't working for you, insulin can be used to treat gestational diabetes. If your doctor determines you need medication, they can prescribe insulin pills or injections to keep glucose levels under control.

Check out these Diabetes Treatment ideas.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Don_A_Mann
http://EzineArticles.com/?Children-and-Diabetes-Treatment&id=7187877

The Possibility Factors for Juvenile Diabetes

Although there is no common trigger for juvenile diabetes there are risk elements that can give a contribution to the likeliness a baby will be diagnosed with the ailment.

As some varieties of type 1 diabetes are an autoimmune sickness you can be at a higher possibility if you have already been diagnosed with a distinct autoimmune sickness. There are additionally some conditions surrounding a mother’s being pregnant and exertions than may give a contribution to the prognosis of juvenile diabetes.

If your baby has been diagnosed with one of these autoimmune disorder he or she is considered at a better risk for diabetes in childhood:

* If your child has had one of those viruses: hepatitis, mumps, or CMV disease

* Thyroid complications general as hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism (or Graves disease)

* Celiac disease

There has been some evidence that has shown that a baby born to a mother over the age of 35 may be at higher possibility for developing type 1 diabetes. This is now not conclusive and it is no longer to say that a child born to a younger mom is no longer at possibility as good. Some reviews imply that a mother who had pre-eclampsia all the way through pregnancy will supply start to a child with a better risk of being clinically determined – however this is not a proven fact.

Other risk elements come with race – individuals from Northern Europe or places of the Mediterranean – are regarded at higher chance than different races. Environmental and dietary elements can play a role too. 

If a baby is below a lot of pressure it is regarded a reason why why he or she can even cross onto broaden type 1 diabetes. dietary dangers elements include high degrees of dairy and nitrosamines (used as a preservative in some meats and cheeses). exposure to pollution is considered a possibility element too.

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Take Steps Now to Prevent Diabetes in Your Child

About 17% of children and teens are obese. This has led to a surge in the number of children with type 2 diabetes, the form more commonly found in overweight adults older than age 40.

In response to this alarming statistic, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a stern warning for the nation's parents: One in three American children born in 2000 will develop diabetes if we don't take steps now to address their fatty diets and poor fitness habits.

Find out how to Stop diabetes before it starts

Take steps now to prevent diabetes in your child

Obesity Ranks Low on List Parents Think Warrant Medical Attention

Parents need help connecting the dots between having an overweight child and what their future health consequences may be . . .


A new survey released today by Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics in Kansas City shows more parents would find it "very important" to seek medical care for a child with diabetes symptoms (81%), asthma (80%) or a learning disability (74%) - BUT only 54% of parents feel the same approach is needed for a child who is overweight.

Read full article 

Juvenile Diabetes Club Aid's Kids

The founder of a diabetes club said children with the disease need someone to talk to about their concerns.

“The bad thing is I have low blood sugar and can’t eat much. The good thing is I have new friends,” said Eric Gutierrez, a third-grader at Taft Elementary School.

“I learned to be healthy with a lot of sleep and exercise and to take care of myself,” said Faith Nardone, a Taft fifth-grader.

The two were talking about their membership in the Taft Elementary Diabetes Club, an education and support group created this year by Annie Hunter, a fourth-grade teacher with 27 years of service in the district and a diabetic herself.

Hunter said the idea for creating a club for children came to her after she witnessed an elementary school girl having her blood sugar tested in the office of school nurse Jill Zinger.

Hunter recalled that she told Zinger that some sort of club or support group should be created to provide assistance to children with juvenile diabetes. It was Zinger, she said, who suggested that she take up the cause herself.

The more she thought about it, the better the idea sounded, Hunter said, adding that she wrote up a club proposal and presented it to Michael Schubert, Taft’s principal.

“I thought it was fantastic,” Schubert said, noting that much of the club’s focus is on nutrition and eating right to control the disease.

The school contacted the parents of children at Taft known to have been diagnosed with diabetes and asked for permission for their children to join the club.

The National Diabetes Education Program estimates there are 177,000 people under the age of 20 in the United States who have diabetes.

“I wanted to offer support to the children who have diabetes,” Hunter said. The club gives them someone to share their concerns with, she said, explaining that sometimes their classmates just don’t understand why they can’t eat a cookie or a cupcake.

“I’m a diabetic. I am learning more about taking care of myself from the children than they are learning from me,” Hunter said, explaining that the club members are very knowledgeable about the disease and what dietary limitations they must impose on themselves.

Their parents are on top of things in terms of keeping their children informed, she said.

The club, which meets every two weeks, has five pupil members. In addition to Eric and Faith, Skylar Barcley, a second-grader, and sisters Tanesha Bryant, a first-grader, and Ta’Andrea Bowers, a fourth-grader, are members.

Tanesha has diabetes but Ta’Andrea doesn’t. She joined the club out of support for her younger sister and her teachers say she keeps a careful watch over her sibling.

Read entire article at Vindy.com

Diabetes in Children and Adolescents

The theme of this year's World Diabetes Day campaign is Diabetes in Children and Adolescents.

Diabetes has a unique impact on children and their families. The daily life of children is disrupted by the need to monitor blood glucose levels, take medication, and balance the effect of activity and food. Diabetes can interfere with the normal developmental tasks of childhood and adolescence, which include succeeding in school and transitioning to adulthood.

The campaign aims to raise awareness of the rising prevalence of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents.

Early diagnosis and early education are crucial to reducing complications and saving lives. The healthcare community, parents and guardians must join forces to help children living with diabetes, prevent the condition in those at risk, and avoid unnecessary death and disability. Support must also be given to caregivers and to school personnel. In this way, children with type 1 or type 2 diabetes can reach adulthood with as little adverse impact as possible on their well-being. For children with diabetes in developing countries the situation at present is bleak.

Diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases of childhood. It can strike children at any age, including pre-school children and even toddlers. Yet diabetes in children is often diagnosed late, when the child has diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), or it is misdiagnosed completely.

Type 1 diabetes is growing by 3% per year in children and adolescents, and at an alarming 5% per year among pre-school children. It is estimated that 70,000 children under 15 develop type 1 diabetes each year (almost 200 children a day). Of the estimated 440,000 cases of type 1 diabetes in children worldwide, more than a quarter live in South-East Asia, and more than a fifth in Europe.

Type 2 diabetes was once seen as a disease of adults. Today, this type of diabetes is growing at alarming rates in children and adolescents. In the US, it is estimated that type 2 diabetes represents between 8 and 45% of new-onset diabetes cases in children depending on geographic location. Over a 20-year period, type 2 diabetes has doubled in children in Japan, so that it is now more common than type 1. In native and aboriginal children in North America and Australia, the prevalence rate of type 2 diabetes ranges from 1.3 to 5.3%.

In many parts of the world, insulin, the main life-saving medication that children with diabetes need to survive, is not available (or is available but remains inaccessible for reasons of economy, geography or constraints on supply). As a consequence, many children die of diabetes, particularly in low and middle-income countries.

Those closest to the child - family, school staff, family doctor - may not be aware of the ominous signs. The World Diabetes Day 2007 and 2008 campaigns set out to challenge this and firmly establish the message that ‘no child should die of diabetes'.

Source: World Diabetes Day - Year of the Child