Natural Health and Herbal Remedies Blog

How could you tell if a toddler is having an insulin reaction? Sometimes his bad temper when he is overtired or hungry or wakes up from a sleep looks very like a hypo to me.

It is often very difficult to distinguish between an ordinary 2-year-old tantrum or a normal expression of developing independence and an insulin hypo. You will learn with experience and observation but you should do a blood test if in doubt, but if this is inconvenient you can be guided a little by a number of factors. Firstly, what time of the day is it?

If it is just before a meal or at a time when your child’s particular insulin is having its maximum effect, then it is more likely to be a hypo. If your child is sweaty and pale then once again it is more likely to be an insulin reaction. On the other hand, if something has happened which might reasonably lead to a tantrum or expression of bad temper, then you might find it a better course to ignore it rather than to play into his own hands by making a fuss over him. Certainly there will be times when you are not sure, and on such occasions it is probably better to treat it as a hypo and see the effect of giving an exchange of sugar. If he starts to improve soon after giving sugar, then it was very possibly an insulin reaction. It may be wise not to use too attractive a form of sugar in these situations (for instance, a compressed glucose tablet might be better than a barley sugar or lemonade) for fear that your child might ‘put on a turn’ in order to be rewarded with sugar.

*83/54/5*

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Check list of things to take

1.     Plenty of syringes – allow for unscheduled delays.

2.     Swabs – the individual packs are convenient.

3.     Plenty of insulin – extra bottles for breakage or loss and a bottle of quick acting insulin even if your child is not using it regularly.

4.     Plenty of blood testing strips for your meter.

5.     Supply of blood testing strips which can be used without the meter, such as Glucostix or BM Test Glycemie 20-800. These are useful if the meter breaks down or if it is inconvenient to use it.

6.     Blood glucose meter.

7.     Tests for ketones in urine (Ketodiastix or Ketodiabur).

8.     Glucagon kit.

9.     Glucose in some form – for example, barley sugar.

10.     A letter from your doctor about your child as an introduction to a doctor or hospital if you need help while away.

11.     A letter for Customs officials if you are travelling overseas. The doctor will certify that you need to carry insulin and syringes.

12.     Identification of your child clearly indicating that he or she has diabetes and is on insulin treatment.

13.     Some snacks while travelling in case meals are delayed.

14.     Travel alarm clock.

Insulin adjustment

Short journeys or travelling within the same general time zone (for example between Australia and Hong Kong) pose no problems. Give insulin and meals close to the usual time. If you cross a time zone, keep one watch on the home time and give snacks at the usual time to prevent hypoglycemia.

For long journeys to a different time zone (for example Australia to England or America) some advanced planning is required. Ask the travel agent to get a flight schedule for the journey for you expressed in both local time and in the time of the city from where you set out for the journey. You can then discuss this with your doctor or clinic.

If you are on two injections a day, this is easy. You may need to vary the morning and evening dose so that when you reach your destination, the insulin fits naturally into your new time scale.

If you are on one injection a day, you should discuss this with your doctor. Usually it is better to give half doses at about twelve hourly intervals during travel and then the usual dose before breakfast when you arrive.

Meals

In general it is usually easier if you:

1. Keep one watch on the home time (the time in the city where you started the journey), judging meal times by this.

2. Try to use airline meals. There is usually plenty of carbohydrate, but you may ask in advance for fruit or extra bread to make up carbohydrate allowance. Some airlines provide’ suitable meals for persons with diabetes on request. Check with your travel agent.

3. Keep an eye on your home time watch. It will tell you when it is time for a snack. Take some snacks with you. Airlines are usually very helpful in providing extra food or serving you first if you ask in advance.

Blood tests

Do blood tests from time to time. It is reassuring to know you can prevent hypoglycemia this way. Don’t worry if the tests are a bit high: they probably will be, because of the inactivity of sitting for long distances. You can use blood strips that don’t require a meter.

Exercise

Take the chance to walk around at transit airport stops. It breaks boredom, provides useful exercise, and helps prevent swollen ankles.

*73/54/5*

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In many ways dropping-out is the youngster’s equivalent of his father’s early retirement.

For some people unemployment may be an overriding problem. There is the loss of income and the social stigma. This may cause significant stress. For others, dropping-out and consequent unemployment may be an inferior way of coping with the stress of work. The student of marginal ability is always hard put to it in his studies, and exams become a problem which produces all the unpleasant symptoms of stress. Dropping-out removes the problems and stress is reduced.

As with his father, who does the same thing in early retirement, the youngster is able to support his decision to drop out with a whole series of rationalizations: ‘What is a degree? A piece of paper! Let’s get our values right.’ ‘I am going to drop out. See a bit of the world. Then come back to it, maybe.’ ‘Life is for living. I am going to camp with the others up in the northern beaches. There is plenty of pot. They are all so unconcerned. That’s what life should be.’ ‘Sweat all night for a piece of paper! Tell me, where does it get you?’ So he drops out. His level of stress is reduced, so he likes to stay that way.

*76/98/5*

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Rash decisions

«I was silly, stupid, foolish. I simply did not think it through. So unlike me. Usually give these things a lot of thought. Get advice. Talk it over quietly with someone I trust. Leave it a day or two before giving an answer. Just didn’t do those things. Rushed off and committed myself. Didn’t think it through. Now I’m in one hell of a mess.

‘I have not been myself since this other trouble began. All on edge. But I did not think it would affect me like this. »

In stress the over-alertness of our brain cells may manifest itself in irritability, so that we react too quickly to minor stimuli. The same principle may apply to a major stimulus of decision-making. The over-alert nerve cells respond too quickly. We come to a hasty decision, and make a rash judgment on some important matter without fully thinking it through.

This is a common cause of errors in judgment in business. It means that if we are under stress from some other cause, we should be particularly careful about making quick decisions.

There is another area in which this reaction may produce quite disastrous results. It applies to young people. Man and girl going together. Everything has been fine between them. One of them comes under stress from some outside major problems, maybe the job, maybe the exams. Some incident crops up between them. The one under stress reacts too quickly. ‘If that’s how you feel, we’ll break up.’ And a good relationship is lost, perhaps forever.

Insomnia

«You only know the value of things when you have lost them. Something as simple and natural as sleep. Had never thought about it. Now I’ve lost it. That’s all I think about. Will I sleep tonight?

‘Toss about for hours. Have moved to another room. No need for the two of us to go sleepless. Sit up and read. Get up and make myself some tea. Take some pills, and hate myself for it. Thoughts run round and round. Will they never stop? »

The over-alert brain cells produce the restless movement of our body, and the persistent activity of our mind, and prevent our natural sleep.

*38/98/5*

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