Diabetes can be of two types, but the most common is type 1 diabetes. This type of diabetes is insulin-dependent, which means that a person needs an external supply of insulin.

In general, type 1 diabetes is the most common, accounting for more than 90% of cases of diabetes diagnosed in children under fourteen years of age.

Diabetes is a disorder of the endocrine system characterized by the low production of insulin in the pancreas. So, it leads to the accumulation of high levels of sugar (glucose) in the blood.

It is usually of autoimmune origin because the body itself destroys those cells of the pancreas that no longer function.

In other cases, insulin production may be normal, but cells cannot use it properly because of the defect. This mainly applies to type 2 diabetes.

Diagnosis of type 1 diabetes

The diagnosis of diabetes is to measure fasting plasma glucose level at or above 7.0 mmol/L (126 mg/dL). This is by the criteria of the International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes, 2014.

On an empty stomach, blood glucose levels are high, so doctors will also perform other tests to confirm diabetes. They need to find out what type it is and rule out other conditions that also have hyperglycemia.

This is because the treatment of these diseases is different, and the prognosis will be worse if it is not diagnosed in time.

After diagnosis, the patient should begin treatment immediately to monitor blood glucose levels. Also, it helps prevent ketoacidosis. This is because it can complicate the prognosis.

Frequency and age of onset

Type 1 diabetes is increasingly common and usually manifests itself at the age of 1 day to 14 years. Doctors diagnose approximately 10-25 cases for every 100,000 children in this age range.

However, there is a significant increase in the number of children under 5 years.

Signs and symptoms of type 1 diabetes

To avoid misdiagnosis, doctors measure blood glucose levels for at least two separate days. They believe that the result for type 1 diabetes is positive if:

• Blood sugar is more than 200 mg/dL.
• Blood glucose after eight hours of fasting is more than 126 mg/dL.
• Glycemia two hours after carbohydrate intake is more than 200 mg/dL.

Patients with diabetes usually have:

• Polyuria: they urinate a lot.
• Polydipsia: they drink a lot.
• Noticeable weight loss.

Therefore, a child with diabetes who comes to the emergency department usually has the following symptoms:

1. Polyuria, which sometimes leads to nocturnal incontinence.
2. Polydipsia.
3. Weight loss is partly due to ketosis (accumulation of acid radicals due to improper sugar metabolism), which in turn leads to extreme weight loss.
4. Sometimes there are nonspecific abdominal pain and even vomiting.
5. There is usually no temperature.
6. Significant reduction in general well-being in the form of drowsiness, weight loss, and inflamed eyes.
7. Rapid and shallow breathing through the mouth leads to a dry tongue.
8. Due to ketosis, the breath has the smell of green apples.
9. Normal blood pressure and central pulse.

Differential diagnoses of diabetes in children

Although the most common cause of hyperglycemia is diabetes, it is also important to consider the possibility of other diseases, such as:

• Cases of hyperglycemia and glycosuria (presence of glucose in the urine)
• Stroke
• Intravenous therapy
• Dehydration with high levels of sodium in the blood

Symptoms of ketoacidosis:

• Sudden and severe abdominal pain
• Acetylsalicylic acid poisoning (aspirin)
• Recurrent ketotic hypoglycemia

Symptoms of severe ketoacidosis:

• Acetylsalicylic acid poisoning (aspirin)
• Hypoglycemic coma
• Hyperosmolar coma
• Stroke
• Lactic acidosis

Treatment of diabetes in children

In general, the treatment of this disease is aimed at controlling the level of metabolism and avoiding acute and chronic complications. These are usually symptoms that can affect the development of children with diabetes.

The education of the child inside of the family is very important in the treatment of juvenile diabetes. This will allow them to control the disease and avoid complications.

Three main points in the treatment:

1. First, insulin provides adequate doses of this hormone because the body cannot produce or use it properly.
2. Second, a proper diet to avoid overloading the insulin system by regulating the contribution of carbohydrates to the body.
3. Third, exercise the muscles to increase glucose expenditure and balance what a person consumes with what they consume.

Fortunately, the treatment of it has changed significantly in recent years. The pharmaceutical industry offers all kinds of insulin. In general, there are medications with both fast and slow action, and they allow better control of this disease.

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When you wake up in the morning, it is very important to start your metabolism immediately. However, many people make severe mistakes in the morning, which negatively affect the rate of metabolism.

Note that metabolism also can regulate blood sugar levels. That is why it plays a key role in weight control and maintaining the proper functioning of the heart and other organs of the cardiovascular system.

The rate of metabolism in each person is different. It can be influenced by factors such as age, gender, daily habits, and health status.

The most effective method of accelerating metabolism is an active lifestyle. Remember that if the metabolism is slow, the risk of gaining extra pounds and developing certain disorders of the internal organs and systems increases significantly.

Morning mistakes that slow down the metabolism

1. Too early wake up

Of course, the habit of waking up early has countless benefits, in particular, it allows a person to have more time for breakfast or morning workouts. However, at the same time, getting up in the morning can be one of the biggest mistakes when it comes to slowing down metabolism.

If you get up very early, you reduce the duration of night rest. Over time, this lifestyle can lead to metabolic problems and weight gain.

Less than 7 hours of sleep a day leads not only to increased appetite, but also to the intense release of stress hormones, and this can eventually provoke the accumulation of fat.

To avoid such problems, you need to adjust the regime and sleep every night for 7-8 hours in a row, getting rid of all external stimuli.

2. Insufficient amount of drinking water in the diet

It is necessary to drink a lot of clean water in the morning because it will help to activate metabolism from the beginning of the day.

Even during sleep, the human body performs many different functions. The body is dehydrated after a night’s rest when a person wakes up.

If you want to replenish nutrients in the body, you can drink warm water in the morning with the addition of natural lemon juice.

3. Harmful breakfast or its complete absence

Remember that breakfast is one of the most important meals when it comes to maintaining a proper metabolic rate.

Although many people completely exclude breakfast from their diet to reduce the number of calories consumed per day, scientists continue to argue that this should not be done. Nutritionists and doctors have repeatedly argued that breakfast is one of the most important sources of energy for the body.

It is very important to choose for breakfast only quality foods that contain the following nutrients:

• Proteins;
• Complex carbohydrates;
• Antioxidants;
• Vitamins;
• Minerals;
• Fatty acids.

Do not eat semi-finished products, sugar, and saturated fats for breakfast.

4. Very late breakfast

When it comes to the typical morning mistakes that slow down the metabolism, it is impossible not to mention late breakfast. Believe it or not, even the time of breakfast has a significant effect on the rate of metabolism.

To prevent excessive production of appetite hormones, you need to eat a healthy breakfast no later than one hour after waking up.

If you procrastinate with eating in the morning, it can reduce the body’s ability to burn calories and convert sugar and fat into a source of energy.

5. Abuse of high-caffeinated beverages

It’s hard to deny the fact that coffee is the most popular beverage for breakfast. After all, this drink helps to get rid of drowsiness in the morning and feel the influx of energy immediately after waking up.

However, despite these benefits, we need not abuse beverages high in caffeine, as they can adversely affect the rate of metabolism. Note that not only coffee but also other similar drinks with a high content of caffeine are harmful to the body.

You should also not drink coffee with added sugar, syrups, or whipped cream.

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The first habit: get enough sleep

Our brain is not able to continuously perceive information: it needs time to process and assimilate it. Recent studies have shown that during sleep, the brain is cleared of metabolic products that have accumulated during the day. This is necessary in order for us to feel cheerful and attentive during the day.

Accept the fact that you have 16 hours of work a day, and don’t try to add a couple of hours to pick up from sleep. Being lethargic, and feeling foggy in the head, increases the risk of developing diabetes, dementia, obesity, and heart disease caused by chronic insomnia – questionable optimization.

Here are some tips that will make your stay at night pleasant and high quality:

• sleep 7-9 hours a day at the same time;
• do not try to get some sleep on the weekends: scientists have proven that trying to compensate for sleep deprivation only harms health;
• if you work from morning to evening sitting, in the evening you must go for a run or a walk;
• reduce the amount of screen time before bed, for entertainment or intellectual activity it is better to choose a book;
• replace coffee or alcohol at bedtime with herbal tea.

The second habit: a balanced diet

Our brain occupies only 2% of body weight but consumes 20% of the body’s energy. To function, it needs a lot of resources that we get along with food. Food has a direct effect on our brain and therefore on our mood.

Scientists have relatively recently begun to study the effects of nutrition on mental health and here are some recommendations:

• the diet should meet the body’s needs for vitamins, minerals, and calories;
  eat whole grains, fish with omega-3 fatty acids (herring, mackerel, salmon, sardines), nuts, pumpkin and flax seeds, blueberries, currants, broccoli, and tomatoes;
• reduce the consumption of processed foods: those that have been canned, cooked, and prepared for long-term storage before consumption, these are semi-finished products, canned food, sausages, snacks, and pastries;
• give up sugar – glucose is needed for brain functions such as thinking, memory, and learning, but the foods we eat every day contain much more sugar than we need. Its excess leads to a gradual deterioration of memory and cognitive functions.

The third habit: is to be physically active

As mentioned above, exercise improves sleep, but the benefits of physical activity for mental health are not limited to this. It has been proven that people who exercise regularly have less stress. Thanks to sports, memory, and concentration are sharpened, body weight is normalized and self-esteem is improved.

And not only thanks to sports! Working in the garden, cleaning the house, or walk to home from work is no worse.

The fourth habit: to be friends

If you have a few friends with whom you meet and communicate regularly, you are already doing your mental health a huge favor. If not, it’s time to build that kind of relationship.

It’s not about adding a thousand strangers to your friends on social media. Build relationships in which mutual trust and support prevail, where you are accepted in good and bad circumstances. Such relationships give a feeling of happiness, meaning, and confidence – and these are the protective towers of your mental health.

The fifth habit: choose meaningful things

Everyone understands the concept of “substantive matters” in their own way. For some it is a job, for others – a hobby, for others – volunteering. The list goes on and on, but all of these activities have one thing in common: they are fun, inspiring, and meaningful.

Remember when you were happy to wake up in the morning – energetic, waiting for something special? It could be a trip to new places, a concert by your favorite artist, or a trip with friends to the movies.

Or remember the state when the activity absorbed you, you were like in a stream, you felt neither fatigue nor the passage of time. For example, reading a book, drawing, or playing football. This is your meaningful business.

Find time in your life for yourself and such things, especially when you feel that due to stress, routine, or negative thoughts, the world around you begins to fade.

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With the news about the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus, it can be difficult not to worry about your own safety. This is especially true for people with type 1 diabetes who already have an increased risk of infections and health problems.

Are diabetics at greater risk for coronavirus?

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people with serious illnesses, including diabetes, have an increased risk of getting more severe COVID-19. According to the International Diabetes Federation, treating a viral infection in patients with diabetes can be more difficult due to fluctuations in blood glucose levels and possible complications of diabetes itself.

“Firstly, the immune system is broken, which makes it difficult to fight the virus and probably leads to a longer recovery period. Secondly, the virus can develop more actively in conditions of increased glucose in the blood, ” experts say. People with type 1 diabetes, when the immune system attacks cells that produce insulin, are at a higher risk of developing diabetic ketoacidosis.

According to the American Diabetes Association, diabetic ketoacidosis can interfere with regulating fluid intake and electrolyte levels, which is an integral part of treating an infection. According to the organization, septic shock and sepsis are serious complications faced by some patients with coronavirus.

How to protect yourself

Regardless of how much your risk is increased, as a person living with diabetes, it is always useful to take precautions to protect yourself from infection and be prepared for emergencies or illnesses.

Take measures to avoid infection.

Protecting yourself and your family from COVID-19 is similar to the steps you must take to avoid exposure to any respiratory illness, and includes measures such as:

• Wash your hands often, especially before and after entering a public place.
• Use hand sanitizer when soap and water are not available.
• Do not touch your mouth, nose or eyes, especially in public.
• Clean regularly with soap and water or with cleaning product surfaces that you often touch.
• Keep your blood sugar in the normal range of reach and pay special attention to diabetes management to keep your immunity strong.

WHO does not recommend the use of face masks for people who are currently not sick. Masks are unlikely to provide greater protection and should be reserved for infected patients to prevent the further spread of the disease.

No matter how bad the current coronavirus pandemic, it is important to remember that the vast majority of infected people recover without incident.

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Because of diabetes, you have to follow a diet, constantly monitor blood sugar levels, take medications on time and worry, as if the disease did not lead to coma, blindness or amputation of the legs. But with diabetes, you can live actively. The main thing is not to miss the onset of the disease.

Over 25 years, the number of adults with diabetes has quadrupled. There are over 400 million diabetics in the world. 34 millions of them are in the USA.

Signs of diabetes

Symptoms of diabetes are slightly different depending on their type. General complaints:

• Constant thirst, more than three liters of water are drunk per day.
• Often you want to use the toilet, especially at night.
• Appetite is growing, but weight is falling (in the early stages).
• Itchy skin.
• The wounds slowly heal.
• Fatigue is constantly felt, memory spoils.
• The fingertips go numb.

With diabetes of the first type, it smells of acetone from the mouth, the skin peels off. Such diabetes can manifest itself sharply, accompanied by bouts of headache and vomiting, and even bring to a coma, especially if no one noticed the early signs.

Type 2 diabetes is often not noticed until it leads to other difficulties: problems with potency, blurred vision, kidney disease, heart attack.

Who can get diabetes

It is impossible to understand that a person will develop type 1 diabetes until the carbohydrate metabolism is disturbed in the body and the first symptoms of the disease appear: fatigue, lethargy, sweating, changes in the tests.

Type 2 diabetes often affects people who are overweight and low activity.

Factors that increase the risk of developing any type of diabetes:

• Hereditary predisposition. If relatives are sick, then the chances of detecting diabetes are higher.
• Pancreatic disease. It is in it that insulin is produced, and if the organ is not in order, then there may be problems with the hormone.
• Diseases of the endocrine system. Diabetes is a hormonal disorder. If there is a predisposition to such diseases, then there is a risk of diabetes.
• Viral infections. Chickenpox, rubella, mumps, and even flu can be triggers for diabetes.

How to check and protect yourself

For suspicious signs, you need to go to the endocrinologist and pass the required tests. Fasting blood from a finger (for sugar), a urine test for glucose, a glucose tolerance test, determining the level of insulin, C-peptide and glycated hemoglobin in the blood (the last three tests are taken from a vein). These tests are enough to detect signs of diabetes and understand what type of disease it belongs to.

If there are no clear signs of diabetes, but you are at risk, donate blood for sugar every year. Healthy people need to have this test every three years.

In order not to consciously drive yourself into a risk group, you need a little:

• Maintain a healthy weight.
• Exercise at least half an hour a day.
• Eat less sugar and saturated fats.
• No smoking.

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