Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life. Therefore, people with this disease have trouble regulating their blood glucose or blood sugar levels.  The cause of diabetes continues to be a mystery, although both genetics and environmental factors such as obesity and lack of exercise appear to play roles.

There are 4 Types of Diabetes:

1. Type I (Juvenile Diabetes). The immune system destroys the cells in the pancreas that make insulin therefore no insulin is produced by the body.
2. Type II The body fails to use insulin properly because the cells in the pancreas that makes insulin become resistant or the cells ignore the insulin.  95% of all diabetic cases are this type.
3. Pre-diabetes occurs when one’s blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be classified as Type II diabetes.  Roughly 41 million Americans fall into this category.
4. Gestational diabetes occurs in pregnant women who have never had diabetes but have high glucose levels throughout the pregnancy.

Diabetes management includes: proper nutrition, paying particular attention to carbohydrate intake, adequate rest, adequate exercise, blood glucose monitoring and medications as prescribed by your doctor. A diabetes care record can assist patients in managing their diabetes effectively.

School Assistance

Please assist me in helping your child to manage his/her diabetes in school by doing the following

1. Your child’s physician must sign the orders for any treatments or medications that your child may need while in school.
2. You must complete the medication consent form for any medications that your child may need to take in school.
3. Please plan to meet with me so that we may work together to develop an Individualized Emergency Healthcare Plan.
4. These plans must be renewed at the beginning of each school year in order to assure uninterrupted care for your child.
5. Please bring your child’s glucometer (blood sugar testing machine), medication, and any snacks that they may need and leave them in the nurse’s office.

Complications of Diabetes include:

1. Hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) and Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)
2. Cardiovascular Disease (heart disease)-including hypertension/high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, heart failure, coronary artery disease.
3. Nephropathy-a slow deterioration of the kidneys and of kidney function resulting in kidney failure.
4. Neuropathy (nerve damage)-loss of feeling in feet, legs, hands and arms.  Injury to the autonomic nervous system may occur resulting in various types of digestive problems, diarrhea, erectile dysfunction, rapid heart beat and low blood pressure.
5. Retinopathy-the progressive destruction of blood vessels in the eye retina resulting in visual problems and possibly blindness.²

Diabetes Facts

1. About one in every 400 to 600 children and adolescents has type 1 diabetes.
2. Two (2) million adolescents (or 1 in 6 overweight adolescents) aged 12-19 have pre-diabetes.
3. Diabetic retinopathy causes 12,000 to 24,000 new cases of blindness each year.
4. Periodontal (gum) disease is more common in people with diabetes.³
5. Center for Disease Control and Prevention Statistics 2005

I would also recommend that you enroll your child in the SNAP (Special Needs Alert Program) so that your child is identified with EMS (Emergency Medical Services) providers.  You will find the document identifying this procedure attached below.

Donna L. Watson R.N.

Take the American Diabetes Association Risk Test.

¹ American Diabetes Association
² Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
³ Center for Disease Control and Prevention