ENGLISH FOR PTA

Diabetes in Children

Abbildung © lu-photo / www.fotolia.com © lu-photo / www.fotolia.com

In this article I would like to address type 1 and type 2 diabetes in kids: According to recent statistics, both are on the increase.

Media interest in obesity in children, which apparently has reached epidemic proportions, leads us to believe that only type 2 is on the increase. While this may be true, it overshadows the fact that the incidence of type 1 diabetes has in - creased three-fold in the last thirty years. The fact is that type 1 is the most common form of diabetes in children. Although type 1 is not completely understood, there are certain risk factors for a child developing type 1.

Some known risk factors include: exposure to viruses that may trigger autoimmune destruction of the islet cells in the pancreas, which are responsible for the production of insulin, low vitamin D levels, and a slight risk when there is a family history of type 1. Type 1 has a lot of symptoms: increased thirst and the accompanying frequent urination, extreme hunger, weight loss despite increased food intake, fatigue, blurred vision and irritability or unusual behaviour. Although some children who have type 2 diabetes do not show any symptoms of the condition, it may be characterized by slow healing of sores and skin injuries or low resistance to infections.

Another sign is an area of darkened skin – usually in the armpits and the neck – which may indicate insulin resistance. In concurrence with the media reports of an obesity epidemic, a high BMI is one of the main risk factors for a child developing type 2 diabetes. As very young children are not able to articulate their problems, it is extremely difficult to determine if the child has developed the condition or not. As with most medical conditions effecting children, it is absolutely essential to refer customers to a medical professional as soon as you, as a pharmacy assistant, suspect that the child may have something as serious as diabetes.

As with diabetes in adults, the complications associated with the disease need to be monitored – much more so in children. The complications that both types have in common include heart and blood vessel disease, neuropathy which is damage to the nerves, kidney damage also known as nephropathy, damage to the blood vessels of the retina known as diabetic retinopathy, foot damage caused by damage to the nerves in the foot and poor circulation, and skin conditions including bacterial and fungal infections.

Pharmacy customer: Hello.

PTA: Hello, what can I do for you?

It’s my son, Jonas. He started school in September and after just a few weeks he seemed to show no more interest. He was very excited to begin with, you know learning lots of new things, making lots of new friends. But now …

Has he shown any unusual behaviour?

Well, he seems to be tired all the time. When he started school he was up well before the alarm clock rang and couldn’t eat his breakfast fast enough before going out the door to catch the school bus!

Has he had any infections since he started school, you know the flu, mumps anything like that?

Oh yes, he had hardly started in the first class when, about three weeks later, he was sick with the flu. Not the swine flu, thank goodness, but the one that does the rounds in the autumn and winter every year. He missed two weeks of school! You can’t imagine how upset he was over that!

Of course! Has he shown any unusual symptoms since? Increased appetite or drinking more than usual?

Now that you say it, he keeps complaining that he can’t get enough to drink! And he’s always hungry! I thought he was hungry because he’s growing at an enormous rate! And he’s so skinny!

I recommend that you go to your family doctor as soon as possible.

Why? Is it something serious?

I can’t really say, but I believe that your son might have developed diabetes.

Really? Oh, my goodness! How awful!

I didn’t mean to alarm you, but from the symptoms that your son has it is very likely that he has diabetes. In any case, in your position I would consult a doctor any way. He or she will run a series of tests to determine if Jonas has diabetes or not.

Is it possible that Jonas might have another children’s illness?

Yes, but only a health professional can determine this. There is also a danger of diabetic ketoacidosis, which includes symptoms such as abdominal pain, vomiting and nausea, confusion and loss of appetite. But don’t worry from the symptoms that you have described, it’s unlikely that Jonas has this. But please, please, please consult your family doctor as soon as possible.

Diabetes! This will probably mean constant injections and blood tests and special nutrition!

Of course it means carefully checking blood glucose levels and treatment with insulin. This doesn’t mean that Jonas and the rest of your family can’t have normal lives. Treatment of diabetes with insulin is one of the most researched and most effective means of controlling a disease. And just because you and Jonas need to keep an eye on his blood sugar levels, it doesn’t mean specialist nutrition! In fact, it means taking a look at your family’s eating habits and thinking about what you eat. Well-balanced meals and eating the correct amounts are not just important for diabetics, it will benefit the rest of the family too!

That’s one positive aspect at least!

Don’t worry! Your doctor will probably send you to a specialist who can tell you far more about living with diabetes that I can. And as I said, it’s only a possibility that Jonas has diabetes at all. Only a doctor can determine this. So, don’t be alarmed, to be certain to go with Jonas to your doctor.

Thank you for your help.

No problem! Goodbye.

Bye!

VOCABULARY
to address ansprechen
according to laut, nach
recent neuesten
obesity Adipositas
overshadow überschatten
incidence Vorkommen
three-fold dreifach
exposure Aussetzung
trigger auslösen
destruction Zerstörung
islet cells (hier) Langerhans-Inseln
accompanying begleitend
blurred vision Sehstörungen
irritability Gereiztheit
sores Wunden
darkened verdunkelt
armpits Achseln
concurrence Übereinstimmung
refer überweisen
pharmacy assistant,(also known aspharmacy aide) engl. Bezeichnung für PTA
complications Folgeerkrankungen
monitor überwachen
blood vessel disease Blutgefäßerkrankung
damage Schaden
retina Netzhaut, Retina
poor circulation schlechte Durchblutung
swine flu Schweinegrippe
recommend empfehlen
consult um Rat fragen
diabetic ketoacidosis diabetische Ketoazidose
vomiting Erbrechen
nausea Übelkeit
injections Spritzen
nutrition Ernährung
benefit nutzen