City-based Idhyangal charitable trust has planned to provide free insulin replacement therapy for the children being treated for Type 1 Diabetes at Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH).
City-based Idhyangal charitable trust has planned to provide free insulin replacement therapy for the children being treated for Type 1 Diabetes at Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH).
In an effort to ensure poor children with Type 1 Diabetes afford timely insulin shots, Idhyangal charitable trust has come forward with an initiative to provide insulin pumps to such children and educate their parents on keep regular check on the level of glucose.
Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 Diabetes also known as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes is a condition in which the body's immune system — which normally fights harmful bacteria and viruses — mistakenly destroys insulin-producing (islet) cells in the pancreas.
Multiple reports suggest that several thousand children are affected to Type 1 Diabetes in Tamil Nadu. With health expert saying Type 1 diabetes in children is a condition in which your child's body no longer produces an important hormone (insulin). And, the child needs insulin to survive, so the missing insulin needs to be replaced with injections or with an insulin pump.
Doctors including pediatrician at CMCH opine that this initiative will help children overcome their health burdens and create awareness and help in blood sugar monitoring and timely insulin delivery aiding them manage blood sugar levels and quality of life for children with type 1 diabetes.
How does a Insulin pump work?
According to the trust, nearly 36 children are to be covered in this free treatment, where they will be provided with refrigerators each to store insulin, glucometer along with insulin pen. The pump gives insulin in doses each day to the children. The cost of the project would be around Rs.12 lakh per year.
The pumps are like a device where insulin is fixed. A small tubes connects the pump to the abdomen and a plastic needle infuses the insulin, resulting in releasing insulin drop by drop to mimic the normal secretion from a healthy pancreas.
Children around eight years old will be given these shots, as they have the capability to adjust the dose level depending on their daily schedule.
However, the success of this therapy has now been the major concern, as it needs to be administered by trained staffs.
With minimal failure rate, the insulin pumps if can be used the right way, will help bettering the lifestyle of children diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.