One of the serious health conditions that seem to be on the rise among teen of today is diabetes. Thousands of teenagers in America are being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes every year and the number of people living with type 2 diabetes is on the increase as well. Recent reports have shown cases of teenagers diagnosed with type 2 diabetes to be increasing as well. Teenagers who are extremely fat and also have the history of type 2 diabetes in their family are at a greater risk of developing diabetes.
Diabetes is a chronic life-threatening condition in which the body fails in its ability to produce insulin or use insulin efficiently. Our body needs to produce insulin to get energy by converting sugar, starches, and others items. Diabetes causes inefficient use of this insulin resulting to high level of blood glucose also known as blood sugar. Having too much glucose in your blood is unhealthy because it will be passed out of the body through the urine causing loss of energy needed by the body.
There are two major type of diabetes
Type 1 diabetes: The body of the people living with type 1 diabetes cannot make insulin, therefore, they need to take insulin from shots every day. Symptoms of teenager with type 1 diabetes include constant hunger, thirst, tiredness, weight loss, an increase in urination, blurred vision.
Type 2 diabetes: The body of the people living with type 2 diabetes cannot use the insulin it makes. Type 2 diabetes is usually common in teens that weight too much or with a family history of diabetes. This condition can be managed through exercise, proper diet, and regular testing. Symptoms of teenager with type 2 diabetes are similar to that of type 1 diabetes. They will also experience frequent sickness, tiredness, thirst, weight loss and blurry vision.
Diabetes is a serious disease that needs to be taken care of at the proper time to avoid worsening the situation or cause even a bigger problem. It is important for people living with diabetes to keep the blood sugar level normal every time. It poses a bigger threat to other parts of the body like kidneys, gums, blood vessels, nerves, and eyes. Diabetes if left unattended to can lead to kidney failure, stroke, heart disease or blindness all of which can lead to death of the patient, be it adult or teenager.
Teenagers living with diabetes are faced with different challenges as they grow up in life. There are many changes that occur in teen as they grow up so also is their physical, mental, and emotional development. Their medical condition makes it difficult for them to live a normal life like most of the other teen they see around. They may need to avoid a lot of things others considered fun such as physical exercise or sport, partying, eating some type of food or even spending days out with friends. This is because of their necessity to check their blood sugar level constantly and taking of insulin regularly throughout the day. This may arouse a desire in them to stay away from friends or society as they don’t seem to fit in with others, this can affect their behavioral pattern and cause emotional challenges.
Parents need to observe their child living with diabetes constantly for any form of emotional challenges. They should work along with doctors and psychologist that can help them with their emotional challenges. Parent should always provide support, guidance and make them feel better about themselves. They should help such child to stay away from food that can aggravate their current medical state. Help them understand the risk associated with their condition if they intend to smoke, drink alcohol or take drugs.