‘Red is a Beast’ character uses an insulin patch; parents need to be aware of symptoms, says Monica Andrade Lima Gabbay, from SBD
Pixar’s new production, Red – Growing up is a Beast (which premiered on March 10th) is about the entrance of the girl Mei in adolescence – and the conflicts that come with this phase: learning to control emotions, dealing with overprotective mothers and so many others. But the film still draws attention to a condition that, in Brazil, affects about 100,000 young people: type 1 diabetes.
Brazil is the third country in the world in number of people aged zero to 19 with type 1 diabetes
One of Mei’s schoolmates (who is a Canadian girl, daughter of Chinese parents and an 8th grader) is wearing a “insulin patch” – which is a “smart” patch that monitors blood sugar and delivers insulin when levels reach a certain point. With such a character, the animation contributes to raising awareness of the incidence of type one diabetes in children and adolescents. Brazil is the third country in the world in number of people aged zero to 19 years with type 1 diabetes.
“The film brings to the screen the reminder that type 1 diabetes is on the rise, especially among young children. And that we need to get used to a kid at school who applies insulin with his pen, who uses an insulin infusion pump. She has to be welcomed.” says the coordinator of the DM1 Department of Children and Adolescents of the SBD (Brazilian Society of Diabetes), Monica Andrade Lima Gabbay. She highlights that the technological resources and the new insulins available today allow children to have a quality of life equal to that of children who do not have diabetes. “This child goes to school, can participate in all activities, play sports. And what we have to do is teach that child’s family to use insulin.”
“Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease. This means that the body itself ends up producing antibodies against the beta cell, which produce insulin in the pancreas. The symptoms that the child manifests are, for example, drinking a lot of water, urinating a lot, irritability and frequent crying, not being able to gain weight – on the contrary, the child loses weight”highlights Monica. “Over time, if the parents do not notice these first symptoms, the child ends up having nausea, vomiting and can reach a condition of ketoacidosis. [processo que resulta no acúmulo de componentes que deixam o sangue ácido].”
For children under 5 years old, the infusion pump is the most suitable
The treatment of DM1 in children, says Monica, uses very small doses of insulin – which allows the use of so-called insulin applicator pens and infusion pumps. For children under 5 years old, the infusion pump is the most suitable: “Because the pump can use fast insulin in very small, fractional doses.” In addition, the pump already communicates with a sensor, which measures glucose continuously, which makes it possible to automatically suspend the infusion of insulin when the glucose drops too quickly, thus preventing hypoglycemia and in the most modern, even using correction boluses. automatic”.
“A very important concern when it comes to young children is getting the right dose of insulin to prevent blood sugar from dropping.”complements.
With this data, the doctor can stipulate how much insulin the child or young person will take, adds Monica. She also says that for young children, the indication is to make use of the most modern insulins, the so-called ultra-long-acting analogous insulins, which act in a continuous way playing the role of basal and the rapid-acting insulin analogs, called bolus insulin, to be used in meals, as needed. That is why it is essential to use a pen that contains half a unit of insulin: both in the syringe and in the most common pens, the dose of insulin goes from one unit to one, and children are very sensitive to insulin.
SBD has been developing a campaign to be carried out in schools, both private and public, which should involve training employees to help children who need to have their blood glucose measured. “It is necessary to place the child who has diabetes in the context of the school as a healthy child like any other”says the doctor.
Source: Recreio
