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21st-Century Kids Fight Diabetes

Posted: Monday, April 11, 2005

CINCINNATI -- Nearly 250,000 children and adolescents in the United States have type 1 diabetes. Keeping blood sugars in range is vital for these kids to remain healthy, and here's how technology is making that easier than ever.

There's a lot Nicolle See likes about playing soccer. "Just having fun and like getting exercise," she says, and it helps her stay healthy.

When Nicolle was 6, she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. "It's just always something," Nicolle's mom, Catherine, says. "It's always in the back of your mind."

"It's hard because you have to remember to check your blood sugar, and you have to remember to give yourself insulin because you sometimes can forget things," Nicolle says.

Now, technology helps kids like Nicolle remember.

21st-Century Kids Fight Diabetes "Technology is one way of bringing something new and different into diabetes care, and it frankly, it does make life easier," Lori Laffel, M.D., a pediatric endocrinologist at Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, tells Ivanhoe.

Good blood sugar control can save children from complications like blindness, stroke and kidney disease. Dr. Laffel says, "The more children check their blood sugars, the lower their measure of diabetes control, and lower here is better. This is like a golf game."

In another study, Dr. Laffel found children who were sent SMS text message reminders to their cell phones checked their blood sugar more often. Receiving reminders online via e-mail or instant messages may also be helpful.

21st-Century Kids Fight Diabetes Nicolle says technology makes having diabetes a little easier. "It would remind me to check my blood sugar more often, which I can forget, and it's like a funner way." And it helps kids learn more about their disease -- knowledge Nicolle is happy to share.

Dr. Laffel says her goal is to find the best ways to keep children and families involved in checking blood sugars, so they can choose THE treatment that's best for them

Source: Ivanhoe Broadcast News