Diabetes
With treatment and lifestyle management, children with juvenile or Type 1 diabetes, can live long, healthy lives. At Beacon Children’s Hospital, we’re here to help.
Our care team consists of endocrinologists (physicians who specialize in disorders related to hormones), diabetes nurse educators, dieticians and social workers who provide your child or teen with a comprehensive treatment plan that encourages a healthy and independent lifestyle.
What is Juvenile or Type 1 Diabetes?
Your body breaks down the sugars and starches you eat into a simple sugar called glucose. It uses glucose for energy. Insulin is a hormone the body needs to get glucose from the bloodstream into the cells of the body. In people with Type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce insulin.
The signs and symptoms of type 1 diabetes in children usually develop quickly, and may include:
- Increased thirst
- Frequent urination, possibly bed-wetting in a toilet-trained child
- Extreme hunger
- Unintentional weight loss
- Fatigue
- Irritability or behavior changes
- Fruity-smelling breath
Our Services
Inpatient Education
Children in our inpatient pediatric units are assessed for education and social needs and learn about such topics as:
- Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) prevention – DKA occurs when the body has high blood sugar and a build-up of acid that is left untreated.
- Hyperglycemia protocol – Hyperglycemia occurs when the body has too little insulin or can’t use insulin properly.
- Troubleshooting an insulin pump
- Sick day management
- Special circumstances – Patients learn how to manage surgery, injury or other disruption in diabetes management.
Outpatient Education
Children in our outpatient diabetes program receive individual appointments with a pediatric certified diabetes educator. Topics include:
- Self-management
- Sick day management
- Healthy living with diabetes
- Monitoring
- Carbohydrate counting
- New insulin management
- Problem solving and coping skills
- Intro to insulin pump therapy
Does your child need an appointment?
If you suspect your child has a hormone disorder or has the warning signs of diabetes, your first step is to talk with your pediatrician. Your child’s primary care provider can evaluate your child’s health and make recommendations and, when needed, a referral to our pediatric endocrinology team.
Review the Beacon Medical Group pediatricians and endocrinology specialists below. Remember you need to schedule with a pediatrician first to get your referral to an endocrinologist