Treatment Overview
Treatment for adults
requires lifelong treatment to keep blood sugar levels within a
target range. Treatment includes:
- Taking several
injections every day or using an
.
- Monitoring blood sugar
levels several times a day using a home blood sugar meter.
- Eating
a healthful diet that spreads
throughout the day, to prevent high blood
sugar levels after meals.
- Regular physical activity or exercise, because exercise helps the body to use insulin more
efficiently. Exercise may also lower your risk for heart and blood vessel
disease.
- Regular medical checkups to monitor and adjust treatment
as needed. Screening tests and exams need to be done regularly to watch for
signs of complications, such as eye, kidney, heart, blood vessel, and nerve
diseases.
- Not smoking.
- Not drinking alcohol if the
person is at risk for periods of low blood sugar.
A regular daily schedule makes managing blood sugar
levels easier. Blood sugars are easier to predict and control when mealtimes,
amounts of food, and exercise are similar every day.
Some people-especially children, teenagers, and young adults-find out that they have type 1 diabetes when they are admitted to a hospital
for
. If their symptoms are severe,
they may need to be treated in an intensive care unit. Treatment for diabetic
ketoacidosis includes fluids given through a vein (intravenous, or IV) to treat
dehydration and to balance
, and insulin to lower the blood sugar
level and stop the body from producing ketones.4
Treatment for children
Treatment for children
includes all of the above measures to keep blood sugar levels within the
child's target range. Treatment for children should also allow for normal
growth and development. See the topics
Type 1 Diabetes: Recently Diagnosed and
Type 1 Diabetes: Children Living With the Disease.
When a small
child has diabetes, the parents have the responsibility for blood sugar
control. As the child grows, he or she can take more responsibility for
diabetes care.