As any sufferer knows, there are two types of Diabetes, type I and type II. The latter is sometimes called adult onset diabetes, and over 90% of diabetics suffer this type.
It therefore takes no great leap of imagination to realize that the vast majority of diabetics are adults. But children can also suffer from diabetes, and for such kids, there are problems to face that are very different to those of their diabetic seniors.
One of the most common diseases found in children and teens is diabetes. 90 to 95% of children with diabetes have type 1 diabetes.the other 5 to 10% have type 2. Most of the time when a child is diagnosed with diabetes it is assumed to be type 1 but in the last 20 years type 2 diabetes has been on the rise with children and teens. More than a thousand children a year are diagnosed with diabetes and health care providers keep finding that more and more of these children have type 2 diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder unlike type 1 which is an autoimmune disease. Instead of the body attacking itself and destroying the beta cells it develops a resistance to insulin and starts using it improperly. As a result glucose builds up in the blood causing eventual damage to the kidneys and other organs leading to more complications. Without the glucose being absorbed the body cannot produce energy leaving you feeling tired and exhausted all the time. Health care providers are finding more and more children with type 2 diabetes, a disease usually diagnosed in adults aged 40 years or older.
When you look at a person with diabetes, you’d never know it, they look healthy on the outside.
But it’s what you don’t see that is so bad.
The disease elevates the amount of glucose (sugar) in the blood. As blood sugars remain high, over time, complications such as blindness, kidney failure, amputations, heart disease, and severe nerve damage can occur.