What are the signs of a diabetic insulin reaction in children. How can parents treat and prevent insulin reactions in children with type 1 diabetes. What steps should be taken to manage blood sugar levels effectively.

Understanding Diabetic Insulin Reactions in Children

Diabetic insulin reactions, also known as hypoglycemia, are a serious concern for children with type 1 diabetes. These reactions occur when blood sugar levels drop too low, often due to an excess of insulin in the body. While insulin is crucial for managing diabetes, maintaining the delicate balance between insulin and blood sugar can be challenging, especially in growing children.

What Causes Insulin Reactions?

Several factors can trigger an insulin reaction in children with type 1 diabetes:

• Administering too much insulin
• Increased physical activity without adjusting insulin or food intake
• Insufficient food consumption
• Illness or stress

Understanding these triggers is essential for parents and caregivers to prevent and manage insulin reactions effectively.

Recognizing the Symptoms of Diabetic Insulin Reactions

Insulin reactions can manifest differently in each child, but there are common symptoms to watch for. How can parents identify an insulin reaction in their child? Here are the key signs:

Mild Reaction Symptoms

• Increased hunger
• Stomachache or nausea
• Unexplained crying
• Shakiness and sweating
• Pale complexion
• Weakness or fatigue
• Anxiety and confusion
• Giddiness or irritability

Severe Reaction Symptoms

In more severe cases, insulin reactions can lead to:

• Seizures
• Coma

It’s crucial to note that symptoms can occur even during sleep, manifesting as nightmares or unexplained crying.

Immediate Treatment for Diabetic Insulin Reactions

When an insulin reaction occurs, swift action is necessary to prevent complications. What steps should parents take to treat an insulin reaction?

1. Test blood sugar levels if possible
2. Administer 15-20 grams of fast-acting sugar
3. Wait 15 minutes and retest blood sugar
4. Repeat the process if blood sugar remains low
5. Once blood sugar normalizes, provide a small snack if the next meal is more than an hour away

Fast-Acting Sugar Options

Parents should keep these fast-acting sugar sources readily available:

• Glucose tablets or gel (follow package instructions)
• 4 ounces of fruit juice
• 4 ounces of regular soda
• 1 tablespoon of honey
• Hard candies (check packaging for appropriate serving size)

Managing Severe Insulin Reactions

In cases where a child loses consciousness due to an insulin reaction, immediate action is crucial. What should parents do in this emergency situation?

If available, administer a glucagon injection immediately. Glucagon is a hormone that raises blood sugar levels rapidly. After the injection, test blood sugar levels again after 15-20 minutes. It’s important to note that untreated severe insulin reactions can have long-term effects on brain development, underscoring the importance of prompt and appropriate care.

Preventing Diabetic Insulin Reactions

While it’s not always possible to prevent insulin reactions entirely, there are several strategies parents can employ to minimize their occurrence and severity:

Regular Blood Sugar Monitoring

How often should blood sugar be checked? Follow your healthcare provider’s recommendations for blood sugar monitoring frequency. Increase the frequency during periods of increased activity or illness.

Continuous Glucose Monitoring Systems

For children experiencing frequent hypoglycemic episodes, discuss the possibility of using a continuous glucose monitoring system with your healthcare provider. These systems provide more detailed tracking of blood sugar levels throughout the day.

Balanced Diet and Regular Meals

Ensure your child maintains a healthy, balanced diet with regular meals and snacks. Avoid skipping meals, and provide a snack before engaging in vigorous physical activities or sports.

Educating Your Child

Help your child recognize the early symptoms of low blood sugar. These can vary from child to child, so it’s important to identify your child’s specific warning signs.

Record Keeping

Maintain a detailed record of your child’s insulin reactions, including:

• Insulin dosages administered
• Activity levels
• Symptoms experienced

This information can be invaluable for healthcare providers in adjusting treatment plans.

The Importance of Education and Preparation

Managing type 1 diabetes in children requires a team effort. How can parents ensure their child’s safety in various environments?

Educating Caregivers and School Officials

Provide comprehensive information about your child’s condition to all caregivers and school officials. This should include:

• Recognizing symptoms of insulin reactions
• Steps for treating reactions
• Emergency contact information

Medical Identification

Ensure your child wears a medical ID bracelet or necklace indicating their diabetes diagnosis. This can be crucial in emergency situations where your child may not be able to communicate their condition.

Emergency Preparedness

Always carry glucose tablets, candy, or a glucagon injection kit. Teach your child the importance of having these items accessible at all times.

Follow-Up Care and Ongoing Management

Regular follow-up with healthcare providers is essential for managing type 1 diabetes effectively. What should parents expect during these follow-up appointments?

• Insulin dosage adjustments
• Review of blood sugar logs and reaction incidents
• Discussion of any challenges or concerns
• Updates to the diabetes management plan

Healthcare providers may also recommend a glucagon injection kit and provide training on its use.

The Role of Technology in Diabetes Management

Advancements in diabetes management technology have revolutionized care for children with type 1 diabetes. What are some technological options available?

• Insulin pumps: These devices deliver small, steady doses of insulin throughout the day, potentially reducing the risk of insulin reactions.
• Continuous glucose monitors (CGMs): These systems provide real-time blood sugar data, allowing for more precise insulin dosing and earlier detection of potential hypoglycemia.
• Closed-loop systems: Also known as artificial pancreas systems, these combine insulin pumps and CGMs to automatically adjust insulin delivery based on blood sugar levels.

Discuss with your healthcare provider whether these technologies might benefit your child’s diabetes management.

Psychological Aspects of Managing Diabetes in Children

Living with type 1 diabetes can be challenging for children and their families. How can parents support their child’s emotional well-being while managing this chronic condition?

Open Communication

Encourage your child to express their feelings about living with diabetes. Create a safe space for them to share concerns, frustrations, and fears.

Empowerment Through Education

Help your child understand their condition and involve them in age-appropriate aspects of their care. This can foster a sense of control and responsibility.

Peer Support

Consider connecting your child with other children who have type 1 diabetes through support groups or diabetes camps. Sharing experiences with peers can be incredibly validating and empowering.

Professional Support

If your child is struggling emotionally with their diagnosis or management, consider consulting a mental health professional who specializes in chronic illness in children.

Navigating School and Social Activities with Type 1 Diabetes

Children with type 1 diabetes should be able to participate fully in school and social activities. How can parents ensure their child’s safety and inclusion?

Developing a School Diabetes Management Plan

Work with your child’s healthcare team and school staff to create a comprehensive diabetes management plan. This should include:

• Blood sugar monitoring schedules
• Insulin administration procedures
• Meal and snack guidelines
• Physical activity considerations
• Emergency protocols for insulin reactions

Educating Classmates

Consider having age-appropriate discussions about diabetes with your child’s classmates. This can help reduce stigma and ensure peers know how to help in case of an emergency.

Planning for Special Events

Work with your child to develop strategies for managing diabetes during special events like parties, field trips, or sleepovers. This might include packing extra supplies, coordinating with other parents or chaperones, and adjusting insulin dosages as needed.

The Future of Type 1 Diabetes Management in Children

Research into type 1 diabetes management and potential cures is ongoing. What developments can families look forward to in the coming years?

Improved Technologies

Advancements in insulin delivery systems and glucose monitoring technologies continue to make diabetes management more precise and less burdensome.

Immunotherapies

Researchers are exploring ways to prevent or reverse the autoimmune response that causes type 1 diabetes, potentially leading to new treatment options or even a cure.

Artificial Pancreas Systems

More sophisticated closed-loop systems that mimic the function of a healthy pancreas are in development, promising better blood sugar control with less user intervention.

Beta Cell Replacement Therapies

Scientists are working on ways to replace the insulin-producing beta cells destroyed in type 1 diabetes, either through transplantation or regeneration techniques.

While managing type 1 diabetes in children presents unique challenges, with proper education, support, and care, children with diabetes can lead healthy, active lives. By staying informed about the latest management strategies and emerging treatments, parents can provide the best possible care for their children with type 1 diabetes.

Diabetic Insulin Reaction (Child)

Children with type 1 diabetes often need insulin shots. But if the insulin level rises too high, it can cause low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). This condition is called a diabetic insulin reaction. A diabetic insulin reaction can occur if too much insulin is given. It may also occur if the child is more active than usual, eats too little, or is ill.

An insulin reaction comes on suddenly. Children with mild reactions may be hungry, have a stomachache, or feel nauseated. They may cry for no reason. They may be shaky, sweaty, and pale. The child can also feel weak or tired, anxious, and confused. The child can act giddy or angry. A child can wake up from sleep with symptoms, such as crying out or having a nightmare. A severe reaction can cause seizures and coma.

Home care

• To treat an insulin reaction, first test your child’s blood sugar, if possible. Then give your child something to eat or drink that contains 15 to 20 grams of fast-acting sugar. This is to raise the blood sugar.

• Wait 15 minutes after giving fast-acting sugar, then retest the blood sugar level. If the blood sugar level is still low, give your child another serving of fast-acting sugar. Repeat these steps until the child’s glucose level is 70 mg/dl or above. Contact your child’s healthcare provider for advice, if needed.

• When their blood sugar returns to normal, your child should eat a small snack if the next meal or diabetic snack is more than 1 hour away.

• If a child has passed out, you may give a glucagon injection immediately, if you have one. Do a blood sugar test 15 to 20 minutes after the injection. An insulin reaction that is not treated can affect brain development.

• Fast-acting sugar products contain 15 to 20 grams of glucose or simple sugars. These include:

  • Glucose tablets or gel (see package instructions for serving size)

  • 4 ounces of fruit juice

  • 4 ounces of regular soda

  • 1 tablespoon of honey

  • Hard candies (see package to find the serving size needed to get 15 to 20 grams of sugar)

Prevention

• Help your child check their blood sugar level as advised by the healthcare provider. Try to keep the blood sugar in a normal range. Blood sugar needs to be checked more often when your child is very active or ill.

• If your child has had frequent episodes of hypoglycemia, talk to their provider. Ask if your child would benefit from a continuous glucose monitoring system. This can more closely track their blood sugars. In some cases, an insulin pump delivery system might also be appropriate.

• Ensure that your child eats healthy meals and snacks on a regular basis. It’s important not to skip meals. Your child should eat a snack before vigorous play or sports.

• Help your child learn to recognize the early symptoms of low blood sugar. These symptoms can vary from child to child.

• Keep a record of your child’s reactions, including insulin given, activity level, and symptoms.

• Educate caregivers and school officials about your child’s condition and how to treat any reactions.

• Have your child wear a medical ID bracelet or necklace that identifies your child as having diabetes.

• Contact your child’s healthcare provider if you have any questions about how to care for your child.

Follow-up care

Follow up with your healthcare provider, or as advised. They may want to adjust your child’s insulin dosage. Follow the healthcare provider’s instructions. They may also recommend a glucagon injection kit.

Special note to parents

Insulin reactions may occur despite your best efforts to prevent them. As advised by the healthcare provider, you and your child should carry sugar glucose tablets, candy, or a glucagon injection kit with you at all times.

Call 911

Call 911 if your child has a severe reaction, such as a seizure, convulsions, or unconsciousness.

When to call your healthcare provider

Call your child’s healthcare provider right away if any of these occur:

• 2 or more reactions occur within a short time of each other

• You aren’t able to keep blood sugar in the normal range

• Your child remains confused or has personality changes

© 2000-2022 The StayWell Company, LLC. All rights reserved. This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical care. Always follow your healthcare professional’s instructions.

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Insulin Resistance and Diabetes | CDC

Invisible changes in the body begin long before a person is diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. That’s both bad news (no symptoms mean you won’t know you have it) and good news (you can prevent or delay it if you’re at risk). One of the most important unseen changes? Insulin resistance.

Insulin, Blood Sugar, and Type 2 Diabetes

Insulin is a key player in developing type 2 diabetes. This vital hormone—you can’t survive without it—regulates blood sugar (glucose) in the body, a very complicated process. Here are the high points:

• The food you eat is broken down into blood sugar.
• Blood sugar enters your bloodstream, which signals the pancreas to release insulin.
• Insulin helps blood sugar enter the body’s cells so it can be used for energy.
• Insulin also signals the liver to store blood sugar for later use.
• Blood sugar enters cells, and levels in the bloodstream decrease, signaling insulin to decrease too.
• Lower insulin levels alert the liver to release stored blood sugar so energy is always available, even if you haven’t eaten for a while.

That’s when everything works smoothly. But this finely tuned system can quickly get out of whack, as follows:

• A lot of blood sugar enters the bloodstream.
• The pancreas pumps out more insulin to get blood sugar into cells.
• Over time, cells stop responding to all that insulin—they’ve become insulin resistant.
• The pancreas keeps making more insulin to try to make cells respond.
• Eventually, the pancreas can’t keep up, and blood sugar keeps rising.

Lots of blood sugar in the bloodstream is very damaging to the body and needs to be moved into cells as soon as possible. There’s lots of insulin, too, telling the liver and muscles to store blood sugar. When they’re full, the liver sends the excess blood sugar to fat cells to be stored as body fat. Yep, weight gain. And what’s more serious, the stage is set for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.

Do You Have Insulin Resistance?

How do you find out if you’re insulin resistant? No one test will tell you, but if you have high blood sugar levels, high triglycerides (a kind of blood fat), high LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, and low HDL (“good”) cholesterol, your health care provider may determine you have insulin resistance.

Important note: Type 1 diabetes is different; it’s thought to be caused by an autoimmune reaction (the body attacks itself by mistake). People with type 1 diabetes don’t make enough insulin and need to take it to survive.

What Causes Insulin Resistance?

It isn’t clear exactly what causes insulin resistance, but a family history of type 2 diabetes, being overweight (especially around the waist), and being inactive all can raise the risk.

You do not have to be overweight to have insulin resistance. You can’t tell if someone has insulin resistance by looking at them.

How to Reverse Insulin Resistance

If you have insulin resistance, you want to become the opposite—more insulin sensitive (cells are more effective at absorbing blood sugar so less insulin is needed).

Physical activity makes you more sensitive to insulin, one reason why it’s a cornerstone of diabetes management (and good health in general!). Don’t wait until you’re diagnosed with diabetes to start moving more. The earlier you take action (literally), the better off you’ll be.

Weight loss is important too, as is avoiding high blood sugar, reducing stress, and getting enough sleep (physical activity can help you get more zzz’s too).

These lifestyle changes really work. Talk with your health care provider about how to get started.

The mechanism of a “fast” insulin response to food was discovered

: 08/23/2022

When we see food and even at the mere thought of it, our body reacts, and not only by the production of saliva, but also by a “reactive” release of the hormone insulin into the blood. It is with the violation of this latter process that the disorder of regulation of insulin secretion begins in type 2 diabetes mellitus. Studies of the mechanisms of insulin response to food stimuli have shown its close relationship with inflammation, which made it possible to identify ways to correct it

The hormone insulin is known primarily as a regulator of glucose (“sugar”) levels in the blood. It is produced after eating, and its main task is to contribute to the “storage” of what is eaten in the form of energy substrates for the subsequent synthesis of fats, proteins and complex carbohydrates.

Insulin secretion in response to a food stimulus occurs in two phases. The slow second phase is regulated, first of all, by the content of glucose in the blood. But the first, fast, begins even before carbohydrates enter the body: its trigger is the look, smell and taste of food. Therefore, it is considered as a neuro-mediated “anticipatory” reaction. But how exactly does sensory stimuli from food lead to β -cells of the pancreas receive a signal for the synthesis of insulin, was unknown.

Recently, scientists from the University of Basel and the University Hospital of Basel (Switzerland) found that interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), which normally participates in the development of the inflammation reaction that occurs during work, plays an important role in the physiology and pathology of glucose metabolism immune system. It turned out that it is IL-1β that stimulates the second phase of insulin secretion. And now scientists in studies on laboratory mice have established its role in the first, nerve-mediated phase.

During the experiments, hungry mice were placed in a cage containing food or its imitation, and mice from the control group were placed in an empty one. The mice were allowed to approach the feeder and their blood was taken for analysis immediately after the first bite.

It turned out that even such short-term stimulation with real food was enough to increase the concentration of insulin in the blood, although the level of glucose did not change. Interaction with an inedible object did not have such an effect. When the researchers injected the animals with IL-1 receptor antagonists and antibodies against IL-1β, “early” insulin secretion was not observed.

It turned out that the source of IL-1β in the brain are microglial cells – “serving” cells related to the immune system. The next link in the signal transmission chain was vagus nerve , which, on the one hand, has receptors for IL-1β, and on the other hand, innervates the pancreas. So the signal goes to the cells of the islets of Langerhans that produce insulin.

IL-1β is known to be involved in the development of type 2 diabetes , one of the pathogenetic links of which is chronic inflammation. At the same time, in obese people, IL-1β is produced in excessive amounts, causing a pronounced inflammatory response, which can negatively affect the ability to synthesize insulin.

This is confirmed by the results of another series of experiments in mice, in which the nerve-mediated release of insulin stopped after only two weeks of feeding a diet high in fat. The good news is that pretreatment of these animals with antibodies against IL-1β prevented the development of this disorder as well.

As is known, IL-1β inhibitors are already in clinical trials for the treatment of diabetes. It seems that they will help prevent not only late, but also the earliest violations of insulin secretion.

Photo: https://publicdomainvectors.org and https://en.wikipedia.org

: 23.08.2022

Insulin and glycemic indices: useful tables sulin index

(II) – indicator, expressing the amount of insulin that is released in the body in response to eating food. The higher the AI ​​of the product, the more insulin is secreted, and the faster the person gets hungry again. For example, after drinking milk, whose AI is 89, a person will feel hungry faster than after eating fish, whose AI is 59.

In addition to the insulin index, the concept of “ glycemic index ” is sometimes used. It illustrates the rise in blood glucose levels after eating a product. The glycemic index used to be used in the selection of menus for people with diabetes. However, now scientists and doctors have come to the conclusion that in order to study diabetes, it is more important to know the response of the pancreas, that is, changes in insulin levels. A recent study by Kristine Bell in September 2014 found that people with type 1 diabetes eating an insulin-based menu performed better than people eating a classic carb-counting diet. And people with type 2 diabetes, thanks to the selection of foods with low AI, were able to stabilize their blood glucose levels.

100% of the glycemic index is the body’s response to glucose intake. And they began to take the rate of insulin secretion after eating 240 kcal wheat bread as a standard for AI. Therefore, the glycemic index of white bread is 80, and the insulin index is 100.

Insulin index of dairy products

The benefits of milk still cause a lot of discussion among scientists and nutritionists.

The glycemic and insulin indices of dairy products need to be better studied. Experiments have shown that fermented dairy products such as kefir, fermented baked milk and yogurt cause a greater insulin response, compared to just lactose dissolved in water.

There is a logical explanation for this. One of the functions of insulin is to increase body weight, especially in children. Eating dairy products increases blood levels of insulin-like growth factor, which stimulates an increase in the size and number of cells.

3 components of milk can increase the level of insulin:

1. Lactose, she is milk sugar.

2. Casomorphins are breakdown products of milk protein.

3. Small milk peptides with hormone-like action.

Studies of the insulin index of protein products are also of interest. For example, the AI ​​of yogurt was significantly higher than that of white rice, and that of stewed beans was higher than that of white bread. Scientists still cannot determine the AI ​​of soft cheeses and cottage cheese: different sources indicate numbers from 45 to 130.

The only dairy product with low AI is hard cheese. And seemingly healthy foods such as skim milk, yogurt, and cottage cheese cause a significant release of insulin.

In any case, dairy and sour-milk products should not be excluded from the diet. You can simply limit their number and try to consume them in the morning.

According to the insulin index, products can be divided into 3 categories:

• From 2 to 30. Low AI: all vegetables except potatoes, oatmeal, buckwheat and eggs.
• 31 to 80. Medium AI: meat, fish.
• 81 to 160. High AI: bread, milk, potatoes, desserts.

With AI in your diet, you can keep your glucose levels stable, lower your insulin levels, and reduce your appetite.

It must be remembered that each organism is individual. There are many additional factors that affect blood glucose and insulin levels. Among them: genetic predisposition, body mass index, level of physical activity, the balance of proteins, fats and carbohydrates, bad habits, the state of the microbiota, and more.

How to combine products correctly? Which combinations can cause digestive problems? How to choose the right side dish for meat or fish? Look for the answer in the following table.