By Kimberly Marie Gayeta,
Anyone can be diagnosed with diabetes – even kids. In fact, most type 1 diabetes is detected from children ages 10 to 13. Sometimes, even children with no family history of this disease are diagnosed as type 1 diabetics. Preventions for this type of diabetes aren’t available at the moment but parents can help their children by being cautious in order to not worsen the complications.
The signs and symptoms of type 1 diabetes develop quickly in a matter of weeks. Keep in mind that the sooner you visit the pediatrician upon seeing the symptoms, the sooner she can take medicine for diabetes. Once you notice the following symptoms on your child, hesitate no more and get her tested immediately.
Uncontrollable Thirst
Is your child suddenly craving cold, sweet drinks all the time? Beware because this might be a sign that she has type 1 diabetes. Children with this disease experience a buildup of excess sugar in their bloodstream. This results to fluid being pulled from their tissues which can leave kids constantly thirsty.
Frequent Bathroom Visits
Constant thirst means that your child will always be drinking something. This, in turn, means that she’ll be taking a lot of trips to the bathroom. If your child starts doing so then you should be wary. Also, watch out for bed wetting incidents. There are cases wherein kids who are potty trained start to wet the bed again.
Intense Hunger
Intense hunger can also be a symptom of type 1 diabetes in children. How? When there is not enough insulin to move sugar into your child’s cells, the energy in her muscles and organs depletes. This leads to your child constantly feeling hungry.
Weight Loss
Although she is constantly eating to appease the intense hunger that she feels, you might notice that your child is still losing weight. Why? Since there is no energy sugar supply in her body, your child’s muscle tissues and fat stores will decrease. This leads to a rapid loss of weight. In many cases, this is almost always the first symptom to be noticed.
Lack of Energy
Does your child always lack energy? This lack of energy might be caused by type 1 diabetes. Children diagnosed with this disease experiences a deprivation of sugar in the body, which leads to sudden fatigue and lethargy. Since she is unable to convert the sugar in her bloodstream into energy, she is constantly tired.
Blurred Vision
Another symptom that you should watch out for is blurred vision. In some cases, fluid is pulled from the lenses of the eyes because the child’s blood sugar is too high. This leads to a blurry vision, as well as other eyesight problems. Pay attention to your child when she is watching television or when she’s reading a book. This will help clue you in if your child is experiencing eyesight troubles. Since children don’t realize that their vision is abnormally unclear, they tend not to complain about it. This means that for you to find out if your child’s vision is blurry, you have to ask her or watch for signs.
Yeast Infection
Female children with type 1 diabetes might develop genital yeast infection. If your child is a toddler or a baby, you might also encounter this symptom but in another form – a bad diaper rash, caused by yeast.
If you notice that your child is experiencing any of the symptoms above, make sure to visit her pediatrician immediately. Don’t wait for weeks; instead take action as soon as possible and don’t wait til they end up as elderly in home care. Although it is not easy to fight diabetes, your child can still enjoy a healthy life. Just make sure that her disease is well managed.
Author Biography
Kimberly Marie Gayeta (Kimmy) is a Communications Degree holder, currently working as an online Marketing Representative and a local event PRO.
Thoroughly fascinated about travelling, leisure, and living the good life!
