8 signs your child may have type 1 diabetes
Concerned your child may have type 1 diabetes? Watch out for these signs
By Lisa Bendall
Over 300,000 Canadians have type 1 diabetes, yet when your own child is diagnosed with this disease, it can come as a shock. “Most kids who get diabetes do not have another family member with it,” points out diabetes specialist Dr. Maureen Clement in Vernon, B.C. “Often, it’s just a bolt of lightning.”
Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed during childhood, often between the ages of 10 to 13. There’s nothing parents can do to prevent this type of diabetes. However, if you notice signs your child might have the disease, you can take action to prevent a serious complication called diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), in which the body runs out of insulin to process sugar and begins to break down fat instead.
If your child shows indications of type 1 diabetes, says Clement, then don’t delay in visiting your pediatrician. “Don’t say, ‘let’s wait a week or two.’ Get your kid tested that day to make sure they don’t have diabetes.” And if it does turn out that your child is diabetic, remember that as long as the disease is well managed, she can still enjoy good health her whole life. Here’s what to watch out for.
Sign 1: Unquenchable thirst
Children with undiagnosed type 1 diabetes may be constantly thirsty. That’s because as their blood-glucose level rises, fluid is pulled from their body tissues. These kids may especially crave sweet, cold drinks.
Sign 2: Frequent urination
What goes in must come out, so it stands to reason that a child who is drinking more will also visit the washroom more. If your kid is taking an unusual number of bathroom breaks, there may be an underlying and serious reason behind it. A younger child who was previously toilet trained at night may start to wet the bed again.
Sign 3: Weight loss
A body that can’t use the energy from sugar may experience muscle mass and fat loss. The weight loss in a child with undiagnosed type 1 diabetes is often described as sudden and rapid.
Sign 4: Lack of energy
Your child may a feel constantly tired or sluggish because she’s not able to turn the sugar in her bloodstream into energy that her muscles and organs can use.
Sign 5: Intense hunger
When a child’s body is deprived of energy due to low insulin, she may experience the feeling of extreme hunger. However, decreased appetite can also be a warning sign, as it’s one of the symptoms of DKA (see sign 8)
Sign 6: Changes in eyesight
A high blood glucose level causes fluid to be pulled from other body tissues, including eye lenses. This may lead to blurred vision or other eyesight problems. However, a young child may not complain to you about it. “They don’t know what normal is, the way adults would,” says Clement. “And some of them aren’t even reading yet.”
Sign 7: Yeast infections
Girls with type 1 diabetes may develop yeast infections. A yeast infection in a baby or toddler may show up as very bad diaper rash.
Sign 8: Diabetic ketoacidosis
DKA can happen in a child with undiagnosed diabetes and is a medical emergency. As the body runs out of insulin for breaking down glucose, it starts to burn fat for energy instead. This leads to a buildup of acidic byproducts called ketones. “DKA changes the pH of your blood and is a very dangerous condition,” notes Clement.
Signs your child is in crisis can include vomiting, stomach pain, fast breathing, flushed face, fruity breath odour and fatigue. DKA may progress very quickly and can be fatal. But it’s also preventable. The more that parents, teachers and camp counsellors are aware of the early signs of diabetes in children, the more likely it is that DKA can be averted.
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Web exclusive, August 2010
your information can not save a child from getting Type 1. If it was the case...my son would not have to worry about deadly issues EVERYDAY 24/7! It is as an auto immune disease..they attack the body for no know reason! Many type 1s have many auto immune disease. Celiac disease will not kill you within days. Type 1 can! there is vitaligo, alapiecia, thyroid issues (hyper or hypo) any of these auto immune diseases can be the first. and yes sometimes celiac too. I thank splenda for the great article. I know that it can save children...I read a very similar one 4 years ago the day they rushed my almost comatose son to a childrens hospital. Ohh..and eating sweets has nothing at all to do with type 1 diabetes...type 1 diabetics have NO insulin in there body at all!!
In your article you say children are diagnosed between the ages of 10-13. This age. I feel is not quite accurate. I was nine when I was diagnosed, 44 years ago, and at that time type one diabetes in children was not seen that often in the rural area I lived in. I expect I had diabetes for close to a year before I was diagnosed at nine I weighed only 45 lbs and was only days away from death from DKA.
I have known many children under the age of 10 and as young as two to be diagnosed diabetic, so parents need to watch and know the signs for all ages of children with any of the symptoms mentioned in this article.
I commented yesterday, but apparently, the truth is not welcome, as apparently whoever moderates this column doesn't like dissent. Of course, this article being sponsored by Splenda (which is just as poisonous as Aspartame) doesn't help, I suppose. So, I will try again. My information COULD save a kid from becoming diabetic!
You are saying, "Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed during childhood, often between the ages of 10 to 13. There’s nothing parents can do to prevent this type of diabetes."
This is not necessarily true. Many children develop diabetes as a complication of undiagnosed Celiac disease. Most people (who've even heard of Celiac disease) think that diabetic kids are prone to getting Celiac disease, but they have it backwards. Undiagnosed Celiac disease tends to trigger other autoimmune diseases, and type one diabetes is one of them.
If you have a kid with frequent tummy aches, very skinny with a hard, round belly, emotional with terrible tantrums, not well formed stools past diaper age etc., you should suspect Celiac disease. If a child isn't diagnosed, you not only risk the child's development (both mentally as well as stunted growth), but type 1 diabetes could develop.
Otherwise great information that everybody needs to know.
You say, "There’s nothing parents can do to prevent this type of diabetes."
Not so. There is evidence that children with undiagnosed Celiac disease may develop type 1 diabetes as a result (quite a few kids with diabetes will be diagnosed with Celiac disease later, but the Celiac disease came first, and caused the diabetes). Also, it appears that children who are allowed to eat a lot of sweets could develop diabetes as well.
Obviously, they have to have a tendency towards diabetes to begin with. But it can be triggered by something else.