Diabetes Mellitus in Children (Coursework Sample)

Diabetes Mellitus in Children Student’s Name University Affiliation Diabetes Mellitus in Children Introduction Diabetes Mellitus is a disease caused by a defect in the carbohydrate metabolism. It involves large amounts of sugar in urine and blood. The disease has two types, which include type 1 and type 2. The other name for type 2 diabetes is insulin dependent diabetes. It is an autoimmune disease that occurs in both young adults and children. Type 2 is one, which is not dependent on insulin. It has a slow progress and occurs in adults of more than forty years of age. The causes of diabetes mellitus include a development of cells resistant to insulin, or the lack of enough insulin secretion. Further, the disease also causes severe complications, which affect the life of a patient. An example of such complications is loss of sight. In the United States, the disease is among the most chronic diseases experienced during childhood. Signs and Symptoms The signs and symptoms of diabetes mellitus in children develop rapidly, usually over a period of two weeks. The first sign and symptom of the disease is excessive hunger. The hunger experienced is because of the lack of adequate insulin to move sugar into the cells of a child. This lack of enough insulin depletes energy from the child’s organs and muscles. The second sign is frequent urination and thirst. Thirst occurs when excess sugar builds into a child’s bloodstream, leading to the pulling of fluids from the tissues. This makes a child drink excess fluids and experience excess urination. The third sign and symptom is weight loss. A child may have a good appetite and eat excess food. However, the lack of sugar energy causes fat stores and muscles to shrink. This leads to an unexplained weight loss in the child. The other sign is blurred vision. High levels of blood sugar in a child lead to the pulling of fluids from the lenses of their eyes. Blurred vision can make a child have a poor visual focus. Unusual behavior or irritability is also a sign of diabetes mellitus in children. Children may have sudden irritability or moodiness. Diagnosis and Treatment A common method used in the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus is a random blood sugar test. It is essential for children to undergo random blood sugar tests because this can lead to the diagnosis of the disease. Blood sugar values are normally written in millimoles per liter (mmol/ L) or milligrams per deciliter (mm/ dL). In a random blood sugar test, a level of 200 mg/ dL or higher is an indication that a child has diabetes (Carchidi, Holland, Minnock & Boyle, 2010). However, if the test results do not suggest that the child has diabetes and the doctor suspects its presence because of the symptoms, he, or she can conduct a glycated hemoglobin test. It is a blood test that indicates the average blood sugar levels that the child has had in the last three or two months. The test measures the percentage of blood sugar that is attached to hemoglobin. The higher levels of blood sugar, the more sugar is in the hemoglobin. A glycated hemoglobin test with a level of 6.5 percent or more is an indication of diabetes. If a child has diabetes, he or she requires regular visits to the doctor, as a way of ensuring good management of the disease. The treatment and management of diabetes mellitus involves the use of glucose sensors, as well as insulin pumps. These are technologies that ensure the control of rapid blood sugar changes in children. They protect children from diabetes complications in the future. Insulin pumps are devices that ensure a rapid acting of insulin throughout the day. They use basal concepts, which are more physiological in nature than insulin injections. Basal insulin is a dose based on consumed carbohydrates or the actual blood sugar present. The doses are usually customized based on the metabolic needs of each patient (Carchidi et al., 2010). The other treatment method is a continuous glucose monitoring system. It is a device that records the levels of glucose at all times. The device has three components, which include a transmitter, a sensor, and a receiver. The sensor has a tip, which contains glucose oxidase compounds that measure interstitial glucose concentrations. Based on the amount of glucose contained in the interstitial fluid, the sensor emits an electric current. This current decreases or increases according to changes in glucose levels. On the other hand, the transmitter communicates or stores data meant for downloading at the receiver. The receiver displays glucose levels in real time. Nursing Diagnosis of Priority Nursing diagnosis refers to the individual responses to potential and actual problems. An actual problem is one found during the assessment while a potential problem is one that has the likelihood of arising at a later date. The two nursing diagnosis of priority that may appear on a diabetes patient are fluid volume deficit and imbalanced nutrition. This imbalanced nutrition is usually less than what the body requires. Imbalanced nutrition has an association with the reduction of carbohydrate metabolisms (Nanda, 2012). This is because of a deficiency in insulin, as well as less insulin intake caused by vomiting and nausea. Fluid deficit, on the other hand, relates to a decrease in the intake of fluids, and osmotic dieresis caused by hyperglycemia. There are interventions that nurses can take. One intervention is nutrition management. In nutrition management, a nurse assists in the provision of balanced dietary intake in the form of fluid or food. The nurse identifies the foods that a child prefers. Further, through collaboration with dietitians, nurses determine the required nutrients and calories to cater for the nutrition requirements. In addition, nurses require tools that can enable them in assessing the levels of health literacy (Nanda, 2012). This is a way of overcoming barriers associated with low literacy levels in patients and their families. Patient and Family Teaching It is essential for parents and children to receive education on the use of insulin pumps. This education includes both the basics and theory of the basal insulin infusion. In addition, the education given to parents and children involves the calculation of carbohydrates and how to use insulin to carbohydrate ratios. The teaching on pump therapy when using saline follows. This is on how to use saline, as a way of practicing cartridge set up and battery operation. Patients make saline practice for between 5 and 7 days. After these days of practice, they use insulin in the pump while following some safety guidelines. Thi...