Type I Diabetes, part 3 — Education, Restrictions and Implications for school
Education
The most important component of managing diabetes is YOU! The best place
to start is in learning how to manage your diabetes and keep yourself
healthy. The goal is to understand diabetes, management of the disease,
and what you can do to avoid developing short-term complications like
hypoglycemia (low-blood sugar) and hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) which
can lead to serious complications.
Here are some basic survival skills
for persons with diabetes:
- Know how to recognize and treat hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar.
- Know how to recognize and treat hyperglycemia, or high blood sugar.
- Know how to do good meal planning.
- Know how to administer insulin.
- Know how to monitor blood glucose and urine ketones.
- Know how to adjust insulin and/or food intake during exercise.
- Know how to handle sick days.
- Know where to buy diabetic supplies and how to store them.
- Know when to call your doctor.
Possible side effects of medication
Insulin is the medication that is used to treat diabetes. The main complications
are if your body gets too much insulin and, therefore, you have low blood
sugar (hypoglycemia), or if your body gets too little insulin and you
develop high blood sugar (hyperglycemia). These are discussed in earlier
parts of this section.
Sometimes, antibiotics are given to help fight off an infections. Some
antibiotics have side effects like stomach ache, upset stomach, diarrhea
or a rash. If you have any of these symptoms when you start taking an
antibiotic, call your doctor right away.
Dietary/physical/other restrictions
The basis for good maintenance of persons with Type I diabetes is in
diet management. Dietary consistency will allow food and insulin to work
together to regulate blood glucose levels and is essential to maintaining
health. Extreme variations of blood glucose can occur if meals and insulin
are out of balance. Excessive consumption of sugars, or other high carbohydrate
foods, is restricted in a person with diabetes.
Consultation with a registered dietician or nutrition counselor is very
beneficial to a person with any type of diabetes. The American Diabetes
Association and the American Dietetic Association developed 6 food exchange
lists that assist in the planning of meals and for control of diabetes.
Physical activity is another important component of good diabetes management.
Regular exercise helps control the amount of sugar in the blood, while
burning excess calories and fat to achieve optimum weight. Special precautions
must be taken by those with juvenile onset diabetes before, during and
after participation in intense physical activity or exercise. Therefore,
a physician should be consulted before a person with diabetes begins any
exercise program.
Implications for school
As a result of the complexity of managing Type I diabetes, there may
be significant school implications for a child with this diagnosis. The
key to success is in education of school staff and peers of the student
with type I diabetes. The school nurse will play a vital role in the coordination
of services and care of the student, as well as educating other staff members who work with the diabetic student. Some
good principles to follow include:
- Communication with the child’s parents and health care providers
is imperative to ensure that the “doctor’s orders” are
understood and followed.
- Blood glucose monitoring at school should be supervised by the
nurse or another designated school staff member.
- Peers should be educated about diabetes and ways they can support
their friend with this diagnosis.
- Physical education should be tailored to the individual needs
of the student with diabetes, taking into account the recommendations
of health care providers.
- If the student experiences symptoms of hypoglycemia, he should
be allowed to go to the nurse’s office immediately.
- School functions, birthday parties, etc. should always include
non-sugared alternative treats for the diabetic student.
- If the child shows signs of an infection (fever, cough, nausea, vomiting, etc.), the parent or guardian should be notified immediately.
Infection can result in blood sugars that are out of balance.
- If the student is ill and must miss school, special attention
should be given to help the student get caught up and complete missed
assignments. Since diabetes is a chronic illness, frequent absences due
to illness or doctor’s appointments
may result in academic deficits
and future school challenges.
Part 3 — Education, Restrictions and Implications for school