Exceptions to the Epidemic

04/25/08 Disease Basics

I believe you would be hard-pressed to find an individual in this country who hasn’t heard of the “diabetes epidemic.” However, I also believe that if you were to take a poll of the populace regarding which type of diabetes is on a rampage, the answers would be vague at best. Therein is the problem. Yes, there is an epidemic, but few people know what it’s all about.
 
Type 2 diabetes afflicts an extensive number of children and adults across the country, and to an extent, the rest of the world. However, in this swirl of data, it is unjust to include type 1 diabetics. These individuals and the circumstances behind their acquisition of the disorder are not the same as those with type 2, and do not wish to be counted as part of our current cultural phenomenon.
 
I recently met with a type 1 diabetes support group, and one mother’s comment succinctly summed up the sensitive nature of the disdain. “People hear that you have a child with diabetes and the judgment is instantaneous,” she said. “You can almost hear them thinking, ‘What, have you been feeding him devil dogs for breakfast?’”

As the group aptly pointed out, type 1 and type 2 diabetes are different disorders, both medically and psychologically. The care and treatment for one is not the same for the other. There is enough contrast that as a certified diabetic educator of the group stated, “There needs to be clarification whenever someone mentions the ‘epidemic.’ It’s type 2, not 1. The population rates for type 1 remain the same.”
 
Sadly, this distinction gets colluded and we are then left with a general public who does not understand the difference. For those with type 1, especially children, this is particularly dangerous. Type 1 care is a regimented series of restrictions, monitoring, injections, and potential medical emergency. Ignoring these fundamental characteristics of diabetes puts a vast number of individuals in harm’s way.  

Type 2 care is generally an easier routine, and this circumstance is what has lead to a widely accepted notion that diabetes management is “no big deal.” This does not suggest that type 2 is an inconsequential affair. Rather, the issue is with the generalized stereotype that has become prevalent as the epidemic has ingrained itself into the public’s mind. This is unfair to both individuals with type 1and 2.
 
The epidemic is unnecessary and unfortunate, but there are steps that can be taken to stem the tide. Education, nutrition, and exercise must be wielded on the front lines of the attack. In this mixture of medicine should also be an appropriate distinction of just who is being treated.

Eric Devine, 30, has lived with type 1 diabetes since he was 12. He lives in upstate New York with his wife and two daughters where he works as a high school English teacher. Devine is an avid writer and is currently seeking publication of two Young Adult novel manuscripts.