Diabetes mellitus in children

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a common, chronic,  metabolic disease characterised by hyperglycemia as a cardinal biochemical feature. DM is a very serious metabolic disorder that prevents the normal breakdown and use of food, especially sugars by the body. It can damage  the heart, blood vessels, kidneys and neurological system and can cause a progressive loss of vision over many years.

Our bodies break down the foods we eat into glucose and other nutrients we need which are then absorbed into the blood stream from the gastrointestinal tract. The glucose level in the blood rises after a meal and triggers the pancreas to make the hormone insulin and it stays into the bloodstream. But in diabetes, the body either can’t respond to insulin properly.

Insulin works like a key that opens the door to cells and lets the glucose in. Without insulin, glucose can’t get into the cells that is the door are locked and there is no key. And It stays in The bloodstream. As a result, the level of sugar in the blood remain higher than normal. High blood sugar levels are a problem because they can cause a number of health problems

Types of diabetes in children

  1. Type 1 diabetes
  2. Type 2 diabetes
  3. Neonatal diabetes

 

Type 1 Diabetes:

Until recently, the common type of diabetes in children and teens was type  1. It was also javenil diabetes or formerly called insulin-dependent diabetis

In Type – 1 diabetes pancreas loses its ability to make insulin because the body’s immune system attacks and destroys the cell that produce insulin. No one know exactly why this happens but it has something to do with genes.

Type 1 diabetes can’t be prevented and there is no real way to predict  who will get it. Nothing that either a parent or the child did caused the disease.

Type 1 Diabetes is characterized by low or absent level of endogenously produced insulin and by dependence on exogenous insulin to prevent development of kitoacidosis, as acute life threatening complication of Type 1 Diabetes. The onset occurs predominantly in childhood with the median ages 7- 15 years but it only presents at any age.

Symptoms of Type 1 Diabetes

The most common symptoms of Type 1 Diabetes in children include:

– increased thirst

– increased urination

– bedwetting

– hunger

– weight loss

– fatigue

– irritability or behaviour changes

– fruity smell On the breath

– Blurred vision

– tingling, pain or numbness in the hand/ feet

– cut or injuries that are slow to heal

 Complication of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus includes

– heart and blood basal disease

– nerve damage

– kidney damage (kidney diseases)

– eye damage

– osteoporosis

– diabetes ketoacidosis

– gastroenteritis

– Stomatitis

Type 2 diabetes

Children and adolescents with this type of diabetes are usually obese but are not insulin-dependent and intreguently develop ketosis, some subject with type 2 diabetes may present or develop ketosis during severe infections or other stresses and may then need insulin for correction of symptomatic hyperglyacemia. This category includes the most prevalent form of diabetes in adults, which is characterized by insulin resistance and often a progressive defect in insulin secretion. This type of diabetes was formerly known as adult onset diabetes mellitus or non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

In the past, type 2 Diabetes mellitus was considered a disease of of adults and older individuals not a paediatric condition. Over the last decade however in the world there has been a disturbing trend of increasing cases of type 2 diabetes in children, mirroring increasing rates of obesity. The risk factors for paediatric type 2 diabetes are obesity, increased body mass index, family history of type 2 diabetes, membership of ethnic minority, puberty female gender feature of syndrome x. The common link among these risk factors is insulin resistance which plays a pivotal role in the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes. Risk factor impact on insulin sensitivity and insulin generation in childhood ultimately leading to type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes in children is an emotionally charged issue and an emerging public health problem. Type 2 Diabetes mellitus is emerging as a new clinical problem within paediatric practice. Recent increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus in children and adolescents around the world even if the prevalence of obesity is not increasing anymore. The majority of young people diagnosed with type 2 Diabetes mellitus.

Symptoms of type 2 diabetes

The most common symptoms of type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents

– urination more often especially at night

– increased thirst

– tiredness

– itching around the genital

– slow healing of cuts or wounds

– blurred vision

– dark velvety patches on skin

– pcos/ pcod

– kidney disease

– eye disease

– high blood pressure

Neonatal Diabetes mellitus (NDM)

Neonatal Diabetes mellitus (NDM) also termed as congenital diabetes or Diabetes of infancy. It is a disease that affects on infant and their body’s ability to produce or use insulin. It is a monogenic (controlled by single gene) form of diabetes that occurs in the first months of life. Infants do not produce enough insulin, leading to increase in glucose accumulation.

Types of neonatal diabetes

There are two kinds of neonatal diabetes

  1. Transient neonatal diabetes mellitus
  2. Permanent neonatal diabetes mellitus

 

  1. Transient neonatal diabetes mellitus

It is so called because it usually disappears within years of birth but can come back again typical during adolescence.

  1. Permanent neonatal diabetes mellitus

Once diagnosed stays for the rest of life or pursists throughout the lifespan. This form of diabetes is characterized by high blood sugar levels i.e. hyperglycemia resulting from shortage of the hormone insulin.

Complication of neonatal Diabetes mellitus

    1. Developmental delay such as muscle weakness
    2. Learning disabilities
    3. Diabetic ketoacidosis
    4. Low birth weight
    5. Epilepsy
    6. Macroalossia – a larger than the normal tongue

As per Ayurveda

In ayurvedic Samhita diabetes is classified as madhumeha a part of Prameha maintain ‘20’  different type Prameha in Ayurveda is mainly kapha Dosha disease which occurs due to lack of exercise, consumption of excess food of ushna or snigdha nature which increases kapha Dosha, Medha Dhatu and mutravedha strotas.

In Ayurveda diabetes is called madhumeha, kshudrameha, which means excessive urine with sweet test like honey. The type 1 one form of diabetes is called sahaja/Jatah prameha and is mostly seen in children and thin people. The type 2 form of diabetes is called apathyanimittala and is caused due to excessive habits such as improper diet and bad lifestyle and is mostly seen in obese and overweight adults and children alike.

Faulty lifestyle and improper eating habits lead to this disease and hence the Ayurvedic treatment remedies the best natural herbal combinations along with the change in the Lifestyle and dieting system.

Ayurvedic herbal medicine provide the patient with pancreatic stimulants which pressurise the already damaged pancreas.

Certain plant molecules decrease the load on the damaged pancreas. So that it get sufficient time for recovery with the usage of our uniquely herbal formulation and recommended Lifestyle changes the short term goal of sugar management and the long term goal of decrease or complete withdrawal can be achieved.

Our unique formulations help in preventing diabetic neuropathy, neuropathy, retinopathy, hypertension, heart disease, nerve damage complication in diabetic patients.

Ayurvedic treatment of diabetes (madhumeham) repair pancreas and correct the normalised function of pancreas.

Recently children were most affected by Type 1 Diabetes mellitus which is caused when the body is unable to make insulin an important hormone for reducing excess sugar in the body. Increase number of children now also getting type 2 Diabetes mellitus which is most common diabetes in adults childhood obesity, bad lifestyle and poor diet are the factors for causing this condition.

Ayurvedic treatment of diabetes

Ayurvedic internal medicine

Panchakarma

Basti

vamana

virechana

Abhyagam

Udavartanam

Yoga and pranayama

Meditation

Ahar (diet) – (Pathya -Apathya)