Accessibility to supplies and treatment is key to successfully managing your child’s diabetes. You can help your child manage their treatment schedule by putting together a treatment pack that has everything they need for their regular insulin injections, as well as instructions for emergency situations.
Start out by having your child select a fanny pack or an insulated pack that matches their personality and preferences. These types of packs come in a wide variety of colors and designs, and they can be further personalized by sewing on or hot gluing on patches and buttons selected by the child. Inside you will want to include the following items:
ice pack
insulin pen or syringe
laminated instructions for regular treatment and emergency treatment procedures
hard candy
glucose tabs
medication
blood glucose meter and supplies
swabs
misc. supplies
With all of these things on hand, your child will be able to handle any diabetic situation that they are faced with.
Creating a Diabetes Team
Children with diabetes also need to have a support team to help them manage all of the responsibilities that come with the disease. To do this, all the people that work with or are around the child will need to be educated on what diabetes is, what symptoms need to be watched out for, and how to treat the conditions if the diabetic child is unable to do it themselves. One way to recruit members for the child’s treatment team is to talk with his or her teachers and classmates. This information session will not only help protect the child in case they have a diabetic emergency, but will also help to reduce the stigmatization the child may face by having to carry around the treatment pack, and by being diabetic.