Juvenile diabetes, better known as type 1 diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, is a disease in which the insulin-producing pancreas stops working. Insulin is an important hormone because it regulates the amount of sugar (glucose) in the blood and helps transfer it into cells to provide energy for the body. If the body does not produce insulin, glucose remains in the blood, thereby increasing blood sugar. Type 1 diabetes, technically, can develop at any age, but usually occurs in people under the age of 30; it is the most common type of childhood diabetes and symptoms arise very quickly. It is important to be able to diagnose it as soon as possible, as it gets worse over time and can cause serious health problems, such as kidney failure, coma, and even death.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Recognizing Early or Present Symptoms
Step 1. Check if your child is thirsty
A noticeable increase in thirst (polydipsia) is one of the most common symptoms of this disease and it develops because the body tries to get rid of the excess glucose present in the blood vessels that it does not use (since there is no insulin capable of transfer it into the cells). The child may be constantly thirsty or unusually drinking large amounts of water, which are far beyond his or her normal daily fluid intake.
- According to standard guidelines, children should drink between 5 and 8 glasses of fluids each day. For children between 5 and 8 years old, the amount is less (about 5 glasses), while older ones should drink more (about 8 glasses).
- However, these are general guidelines and only you can know how much your child normally drinks each day. Therefore, determining a real increase in fluid intake is entirely relative, based on the child's habits. If he usually drinks about three glasses of water and a glass of milk at dinner, but now he keeps asking for water and drinks and you notice that he is taking in much more than his usual 3-4 glasses a day, this can cause you to think there is a health problem.
- Your child's thirst may be incessant, it will not quench even if he continues to drink a lot and the child may still appear very dehydrated.
Step 2. Pay attention if you urinate more often than usual
The increased frequency of urination, also known as polyuria, indicates that the body is trying to excrete glucose with urine and is also caused by the increased fluid intake. Since the child is now drinking a lot, he obviously produces more urine and consequently the urge to pee increases dramatically.
- Be especially careful at night and see if your child gets up to go to the bathroom more often than usual.
- There is no average number of times a child should go to the bathroom each day, because it depends on the food and water they eat - what is normal for one child may not be for another. However, you can compare the current frequency with the past one. If she typically peed about 7 times a day, but now you notice that she goes to the bathroom 12 times, this change should be cause for concern. Therefore, the night is a good opportunity to check and become aware of the problem. If your child previously never got up at night to go to the bathroom, but now you notice that he pees two, three or even four times, you need to take him to the pediatrician for a visit.
- You also need to check for signs of dehydration, caused by all this passing out of urine; pay attention if his eyes are sunken, his mouth dry and if the skin has lost elasticity (try pinching the skin on the back of his hand; if you see that it does not immediately return to its original position, it means that the baby is dehydrated).
- Be very careful and alert in case the baby wets the bed again. This is particularly important if you are at an age where you have learned not to pee on yourself and have not wetted your bed for a long time.
Step 3. See if you are losing weight inexplicably
This is a typical symptom of juvenile diabetes, because the metabolism is altered due to the increase in blood sugar. Very often, the child will lose weight quickly, even if, at times, the weight loss is more gradual.
- Your child may lose weight and appear thin, emaciated and weak due to this disorder. Keep in mind that weight loss from type 1 diabetes often goes hand in hand with a reduction in muscle mass.
- As a general rule, in the event of unexplained weight loss you should always go to your doctor for a formal diagnosis.
Step 4. See if the child suddenly becomes insatiable
The loss of muscle mass and fat, in addition to the loss of calories due to type 1 diabetes, lead to a decrease in energy and therefore hunger can increase. Thus, paradoxically, the child could lose weight while exhibiting an incredible increase in appetite.
- This extreme hunger, known by the medical term polyphagia, is triggered by the body's attempt to assimilate the glucose present in the blood that cells need. The body needs more food to take in glucose and produce energy, but it cannot do so because, without insulin, the child can eat as much as he wants, but the glucose contained in the food remains in the bloodstream and does not reach the cells.
- Keep in mind that to date there is no medical or scientific reference point that allows you to evaluate the hunger of children. Some naturally eat more than others, yet others are hungrier when they are in full development. The best thing you can do is to check your child's current behavior, compare it to the previous one, and see if the appetite has significantly increased. For example, if she used to eat three meals a day before, but has been eating everything on her plate for a few weeks and is asking for more and more, you should worry. In particular, if this increase in hunger is accompanied by an increase in thirst and urination, the development and growth phase is unlikely to be the cause.
Step 5. Pay attention to sudden and constant exhaustion
The loss of calories and glucose needed to produce energy, as well as muscle wasting and fat loss, cause fatigue and disinterest in normal activities and games that previously thrilled him.
- Sometimes children tend to be irritable and have mood swings due to the feeling of exhaustion.
- In addition to the symptoms listed so far, you should also check for altered sleep habits. If he typically slept 7 hours a night, but now sleeps 10 and still feels tired or shows signs of sleepiness, or is sluggish or lethargic even after a full night's sleep, you need to take note. This may not be a sign of developmental stage or a period of fatigue, but of the presence of diabetes.
Step 6. Pay attention if your child has a sudden vision problem
Hyperglycemia alters the water content in the lens which becomes swollen causing hazy, hazy or blurry vision. If the child complains of blurred vision and repeated visits to the ophthalmologist do not lead to any useful results, you must have him examined by the pediatrician to understand if the problem may be due to type 1 diabetes.
Blurry vision usually resolves when you are able to restore a balance in the sugar present in the blood
Method 2 of 3: Check for Late or Concomitant Symptoms
Step 1. Pay attention to frequent yeast infections
Diabetes raises sugar and glucose levels in the blood and vaginal secretions. It is an ideal environment for the growth of yeasts that cause fungal infections; the child can therefore suffer from recurrent mycosis on the skin.
- Look for frequent genital itching. Girls may often suffer from vaginal yeast infections, which cause itching and discomfort in the area and discharge of foul-smelling whitish or yellowish mucus.
- Athlete's foot is another fungal infection favored by the decline in immune defenses, in turn caused by diabetes; this mycosis can cause peeling of the skin with white material coming out of the webbed area between the toes and on the soles of the feet.
Step 2. Monitor for recurring skin infections
The body's ability to fight infections in this case is hampered by diabetes, because the disease generates immunological dysfunctions. The rise in blood glucose also causes unwanted bacterial overgrowth, which often causes skin infections, such as boils or abscesses, carbuncles or ulcers.
Another aspect of recurrent skin infections is slow wound healing. Any small cut, scratch or wound due to minor trauma takes a very long time to heal. Look for any small lesions that don't heal or heal as usual
Step 3. Look for Vitiligo
It is an autoimmune disease that causes a reduction in the skin's melanin. Melanin is the pigment that normally gives hair, skin and eyes color. With type 1 diabetes, the body develops autoantibodies that destroy melanin - and as a result, white patches appear on the skin.
Although this is a problem that occurs in advanced cases of type 1 diabetes and is actually not very common, it is worth investigating if your child begins to have these white patches on the skin
Step 4. Check for vomiting or shortness of breath
These are symptoms found in the advanced stage of diabetes: if the child vomits or has difficulty breathing, know that he is showing severe symptoms and must be transported to the hospital for proper treatment.
These symptoms can be a sign of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), a serious problem that can even result in a life-threatening coma. Be especially careful when you notice these symptoms, as they develop quickly, sometimes within 24 hours. if left untreated, DKA can lead to death
Method 3 of 3: Get a Medical Exam
Step 1. Know when it's time to take your baby to the pediatrician
In many cases, type 1 diabetes is first diagnosed in the emergency room when the child enters a diabetic coma or diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). Although it is possible to treat this medical picture with the administration of fluids and insulin, it is best to avoid getting to this point by consulting your doctor as soon as you suspect that the child may be diabetic. Don't wait for your child to remain unconscious for a long time due to diabetic ketoacidosis to confirm your suspicions, get them examined first!
Symptoms that require immediate medical attention are: loss of appetite, nausea or vomiting, high fever, stomach pain, fruity-smelling breath (you probably feel this, because the baby can hardly hear it)
Step 2. Take the baby to the pediatrician for a visit
If you are concerned that he may have type 1 diabetes, you need to get him checked out right away. In order to diagnose the problem, your doctor will order blood tests to check your blood sugar. There are two types of possible tests, one for hemoglobin and one for random or fasting blood glucose.
- Glycated hemoglobin (A1C) test. This blood test provides information about the baby's blood sugar level over the past 2-3 months by measuring the percentage of sugar that has bound to hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is the oxygen-carrying protein in red blood cells; the higher your child's blood sugar, the more sugar binds to hemoglobin. If in two different tests a percentage equal to or greater than 6.5% is obtained, then the child is diabetic. This is a standard test that is done to diagnose the disease, manage it, and also do research on it.
- Blood glucose test. In this case, the doctor takes a blood sample at any time of the day. Regardless of whether the child has eaten or not, if at any time the sugar reaches 200 milligrams per deciliter (mg / dl), then there is diabetes, especially if the other symptoms already described have been shown. previously. The doctor might also take a blood sample after asking the child to fast all night. In this case, if the blood sugar is between 100 and 125 mg / dl, it is called prediabetes; while, if in two separate analyzes values equal to or greater than 126 mg / dl (7 millimoles per liter - 7 mmol / l) are found, the child has diabetes.
- The doctor may also decide to order a urinalysis to confirm the presence of type 1 diabetes. If the urine contains ketones, produced by the breakdown of fats in the body, it means that there is type 1 diabetes, otherwise from what happens with type 2 diabetes.
Step 3. Get an accurate diagnosis and therapy
Once all the necessary analyzes have been carried out correctly, the doctor will detect the data found following the diagnostic criteria of the American Diabetes Association (ADA), to make sure that it is indeed diabetes. Once the disease is diagnosed, the baby will need to be followed and monitored closely until the blood sugar has stabilized. The doctor will need to determine the right amount of insulin the child needs, as well as the appropriate dosage. It may also be helpful to contact an endocrinologist, a doctor who specializes in hormonal disorders, to coordinate the ideal care for your child.
- Once you have set up insulin treatment to manage your child's diabetes, you will need to schedule checkups every 2-3 months to repeat some of the diagnostic tests and make sure your blood sugar reaches acceptable levels.
- The child will also need to have regular eye and foot exams, as these are the first areas to suffer from inadequate diabetes treatment.
- While there is no real cure for diabetes, technology and therapies have developed to such an extent in recent years that sick children can live happy and healthy lives once they have learned to manage the condition.
Advice
- Be aware that type 1 diabetes or what is usually referred to as juvenile diabetes is not associated with nutrition or weight.
- If a direct family member (such as a sister, brother, mom or dad) has diabetes, the child in question should see the doctor at least once a year in the age group 5 to 10, to be sure that do not have diabetes.
Warnings
- Since many of the symptoms of type 1 diabetes (lethargy, thirst, hunger) may be typical behaviors of your child, you may not even notice them. If you suspect your baby has any of these symptoms or a combination of them, take him to the pediatrician right away.
- It is absolutely essential to diagnose, treat and manage this disease early, so as to reduce the risk of serious complications, such as heart problems, nerve damage, blindness, kidney dysfunction and even death.
