T.J. Samson | Destination Health | June 2020

Diabetes 6 DESTINATION HEALTH Sunscreen: A primer for parents Heads up moms and dads: Even a few serious sunburns raise your child’s risk of skin cancer. What’s more, most of the sun damage to skin occurs in childhood. To use sunscreen properly, keep these tips in mind: Avoid exposing babies younger than 6 months to direct sun. The best way to protect their delicate skin is to keep them in the shade. Dress them in a wide- brimmed hat and lightweight cloth- ing that covers their arms and legs. Even if it’s cool or cloudy, kids still need sunscreen. Clouds don’t block the sun’s harmful UV rays. Not every sunscreen will do. The American Academy of Dermatology recommends sun- screen that offers broad-spectrum (UVA and UVB) protection, has a sun protection factor of 30 or higher, and is water-resistant. You need to think ahead. Sunscreen should be applied to dry skin 15 minutes before going outside. One application may not be enough. Sunscreen needs to be reapplied every two hours and after swimming, sweating or toweling off. It’s important to be thorough. When applying sunscreen, cover ears, noses, feet and hands, and the backs of knees. Additional sources: American Academy of Pediatrics; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Type 1 diabetes: What every parent should know When stories are written about diabetes, the focus is often on type 2 diabetes because it is by far the most common form of the disease. But there is another type of diabetes that de- serves attention—one that parents, in particular, need to know about—and that is type 1 diabe- tes. It’s usually diagnosed in children, teens and young adults and is a lifelong condition that must be carefully controlled. HOW IT DEVELOPS Type 1 diabetes is caused by the lack of insulin, a hormone that moves sugar from the bloodstream into cells to be used for energy. Without insu- lin to move it into cells, sugar builds up in the bloodstream. Signs and symptoms of type 1 diabetes are mainly caused by the inability to use that sugar for energy and by excess levels of unused sugar spilling into the urine, leading to dehydration. Signs and symptoms of the disease include: ●  ● Hunger, sometimes severe. ●  ● Weight loss. ●  ● Increased thirst. ●  ● Increased urination. This is easily missed in infants who are not yet toilet trained. It can also cause accidents in children previously toilet trained. ●  ● Fatigue. ●  ● Irritability. HOW IT IS DETECTED AND TREATED If you think your child might have type 1 diabe- tes, see your child’s primary care provider (PCP) right away—it’s important to find the disease as early as possible.The PCP can diagnose the dis- ease by checking your child’s blood and urine. Type 1 diabetes is treated with regular daily in- jections of insulin, which are delivered with small syringes and tiny, short needles that are almost painless. Blood sugar levels need to be checked several times a day with a finger stick. Blood sugar is measured when a tiny drop of blood is placed on a strip that’s inserted into a home glucose meter. HOW YOU CAN HELP If your child is diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, you can help your child by giving him or her a lot of love and support. Children with the disease can lead happy and healthy lives if the disease is kept under control. Work with a diabetes educator to create a healthy eating plan that will help manage your child’s diabetes and will include food that every- one in the family can enjoy. And make staying active a family priority. Let your child know that many successful people—from Olympic athletes to rock stars and famous actors—have diabetes.The disease has not held them back from their dreams, and it shouldn’t hold your child back either. Sources: American Academy of Pediatrics; American Diabetes Association; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention If you are pregnant—or planning on becom- ing pregnant—it’s important to know the facts about gestational diabetes. Here are 8 key points to understand. 1 Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that occurs only during pregnancy. It means that a woman’s blood sugar is too high. 2 The disease is usually diagnosed in the 24th to 28th week of pregnancy using a blood test. 3 High blood sugar levels during preg- nancy can cause problems for a baby, such as: ●  ● Being born too early. ●  ● Weighing too much. ●  ● Having low blood sugar right after birth. ●  ● Having breathing problems. 4 Gestational diabetes can also cause problems for a woman during preg- nancy, such as: ●  ● Labor difficulties. ●  ● Cesarean delivery. ●  ● Heavy bleeding after delivery. ●  ● Preeclampsia, or dangerously high blood pressure. Preeclampsia can lead to the baby being delivered early before fully grown. 5 You’re at increased risk for developing gestational diabetes if you: ●  ● Are overweight. ●  ● Had gestational diabetes during a prior pregnancy. ●  ● Have a parent or sibling with type 2 diabetes. ●  ● Have prediabetes. You have high blood sugar but not high enough to be diabetes. ●  ● Are African American, American Indian, Asian American, Latina or Pacific Islander American. ●  ● Have a hormone disorder called polycystic ovary syndrome. 6 You can lower your likelihood of developing gestational diabetes before you become pregnant by losing extra weight and exercising regularly. 7 If you are diagnosed with gestational diabetes, you may need to take insulin or other medications during your pregnancy. 8 Gestational diabetes goes away after childbirth. However, you are at higher risk for developing regular diabetes later in life once you’ve had gestational diabetes. Sources: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; National Institutes of Health Do you know the risks of gestational diabetes?