November is National Diabetes Month, a time when communities across the country team up to bring attention to diabetes. This year’s focus is on taking care of youth who have diabetes.
Diabetes is one of the most common chronic conditions in school-age youth in the United States, affecting about 193,000 youth under 20 years old. Regardless of their age, sometimes youth who have diabetes need support with their diabetes care. That is why it’s important to help your child or teen develop a plan to manage diabetes, and work with their health care team to adjust the diabetes self-care plan as needed.
Here are some tips to consider for youth's diabetes self-care plan:
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- Manage blood glucose levels. Make sure your child or teen takes their medicines as prescribed, at the right time, and the right dose—even when they feel good or have reached their blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol goals.
- Encourage healthy habits. Follow a healthy eating plan (especially if your youth is taking insulin), get enough sleep, and aim for regular physical activity. Youth with type 1 diabetes should also check their blood glucose levels before, during, or after physical activity.
- Stay prepared for emergencies. A basic “go-kit” could include medical supplies and equipment (at least a week’s worth), emergency and health care professional contact lists, and a medication list, including doses and dosing schedules, and an allergy list Face coverings, hand sanitizer, and disinfecting wipes may also be added to your “go-kit” during a pandemic.
- Monitor for diabetes complications. Early diagnosis and treatment can help reduce risk for heart disease, vision loss, nerve damage, and other related health problems.
For more information: click here!
Tips to help youth who have diabetes
November is National Diabetes Month! It can be stressful for the youth and their family when a child or teen has diabetes.
Get tips from the @National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) for taking care of youth who have diabetes. For more helpful tips, visit https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/community-health-outreach/national-diabetes-month
Helping Students with diabetes succeed
Diabetes is a chronic disease that affects thousands of school-age children nationwide. Schools have an important role to play in ensuring that student with diabetes have the support they need to stay healthy, enjoy the same opportunities for learning and having fun as their peers, and are prepared to do their best in school.
Among school-age children, type 1 diabetes is more common than type 2 diabetes. In type 1 diabetes, the body does not make insulin, a hormone that helps glucose get into the cells and be used for energy. As a result, the amount of glucose in their blood may be higher than normal, and their bodies may not use glucose effectively. Students with type 1 diabetes need to take insulin every day to stay alive.
Other students may have type 2 diabetes. This type of diabetes, while more common among middle-aged and older adults, is increasingly being diagnosed among children. In type 2 diabetes, the body may make insulin, but may not make enough to control blood glucose.
For more information on how to help students manage their diabetes, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Managing Diabetes at School and the American Diabetes Association’s Safe at School campaign.
For more helpful tips, visit: click here!
Why screen & treat prediabetes?
Prediabetes represents a state of increased health risk that is defined by elevated blood glucose in addition to other health risks, such as high blood pressure, abnormal blood cholesterol, and other obesity-related conditions. Identifying patients with prediabetes has important benefits for individuals as well as health systems, Screening for prediabetes and intervening before a patient has progressed to type 2 diabetes offers a hose of benefits such as:
- Better Patient Outcomes: Successful lifestyle changes resulting in 5-7% weight loss and increased physical activity can improve patients’ health-related quality of life while helping them to avoid missed work days, reduce medication needs to for high blood pressure and high cholesterol, and avoid the psychological stress associated with developing type 2 diabetes.
- Cost-Effectiveness: Interventions for prediabetes are highly cost-effective.
- Improved population health: The lifetime risk of diabetes diagnosis for Americans is 40%, meaning 2 out of every 5 American adults may be diagnosed. Continuing to provide high quality care for a growing number of people with diabetes will add to existing demands on health care teams and systems. Successfully helping patients with prediabetes to attain normal blood glucose levels or prevent or delay progression to type 2 diabetes is likely to reduce future demands on health care teams and systems, allowing them to experience higher quality and better outcomes for the fewer numbers of other patients already living with diabetes.
- Recognition & Referral: Identifying prediabetes and offering or referring high-risk people to interventions and support are consistent with evidence-based
guidelines for preventive care and constitute important ways of assisting patients and families in self-care management—both of which are necessary for providers and practices to seek and receive recognition from National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as a Patient-Centered Medical Home.
For more information about treating prediabetes, visit: click here!
Did you know there are 2 types of Diabetes?
Get resources and information for you and your patients and participate in the ADA Online Forum for Diabetes & Covid-19.
For more information about ADA COVID-19 Webinar Series, please visit click here!
Did you know that diabetes is one of the most common chronic conditions in school-age children? You can help your child by developing a diabetes management plan.
To listen to the transcript from Dr. Rodgers about developing a plan today, please visit: click here!
Diabetes takes a toll on more than your body. It's normal to feel emotional strain - and it's important to ask for help.
For more helpful information and tips, please visit: click here!
