Sky Post (13/01/2022)(In Chinese)
Insulin injections help type 1 diabetes patients regain their life
View original article：Insulin injections help type 1 diabetes patients regain their life
Diabetes is actually a disease caused by insufficient insulin secretion or insulin resistance. Among them, patients with type 1 diabetes cannot secrete insulin normally due to genetic or autoimmune system abnormalities. Most patients have developed the disease in childhood or adolescence and need to use insulin for life to control the disease. Dr. You Kecong, President of the Hong Kong Society of Pediatric Endocrinology, said frankly that before the discovery of insulin, diabetes was indeed considered an incurable disease. It is precisely because of the emergence of insulin treatment that diabetics have the opportunity to regain a healthy life; plus with the development of technology, insulin has made great progress in both efficacy and use, bringing convenience to diabetic patients.
Essential hormones for the body
Dr. You Kecong explained that insulin is actually an indispensable hormone for the human body. Its function is to help glucose enter human cells. If there is a problem with the secretion of insulin, glucose will accumulate in the blood and cause serious complications. “Most people with type 1 diabetes have problems with their own immune system, which causes the pancreas to fail to produce enough insulin. Patients need to inject insulin to control blood sugar at an ideal level.”
Ms. Fina Cheng, Chairperson of the Children’s Diabetes Association, also added that since most patients with type 1 diabetes develop the disease in childhood, their bodies have a severe lack of insulin. If they fail to replenish enough insulin, it will lead to complications such as ketoacidosis, which may even threaten the child’s life.
A century of insulin development to improve compliance
The therapeutic efficacy of insulin is undoubtedly unquestionable, but the fear of “injections” and the inconvenience of injections affect patients’ compliance and even the therapeutic effect. Fortunately, after a century of development, insulin has made great progress in both efficacy and use, helping patients with type 1 diabetes to better control diabetes. “With scientific progress, insulin has evolved from animal-derived insulin to artificially synthesized insulin, which is closer to the human body’s insulin response. In terms of efficacy, for example, pre-meal insulin used to take effect slowly, and patients often needed to inject it 30 minutes before a meal. Now, rapid-acting insulin only needs to be injected 10-15 minutes before a meal or before a meal. As for basal insulin, the emergence of ultra-long-acting basal insulin can help reduce the number of injections and is more flexible.”
Actively control blood sugar and regain normal life
In fact, as long as type 1 diabetics inject insulin according to the doctor’s instructions and actively control blood sugar, they are basically the same as ordinary people. As for the problem of hypoglycemia after insulin injection, which may affect school life, Dr. You Kecong suggested that parents can solve it through communication and preparation. “‘Communication’ means encouraging parents to communicate more with the school first, so that the school knows how to deal with students’ hypoglycemia; ‘preparation’ means through education, let children with diabetes and their parents understand the symptoms and treatment methods of hypoglycemia, thereby reducing the chance of hypoglycemia.”
Finally, Fina said that as a parent and friend of type 1 diabetics, being able to be a diabetic with them is the greatest support and encouragement. “When everyone can put themselves in their shoes, eat healthy food, and exercise together, they will not feel that they are different and can enjoy a normal life.”