By: Bertil Hjert
Unfortunately one in every 700 children of school going age is suffering from diabetes. According to a research, it has been proved that this ratio will increase to a good amount in coming years. Most parents are not able to spot when the disease has already started in their children. The worst part is that most of the symptoms of diabetes are treated as normal.
Most people are not able to identify this disease in their children because the symptoms do not appear all at once. There are possibilities that a particular symptom appear at present and the other may take about some months to appear.
A) Here are some of the symptoms that can tell you about the presence of this serious disease in children:
a) Frequent thirst:
If your child is thirsty than normal then you need to worry. Excessive thirst may due to loss of fluid due to higher glucose levels present in the blood that ultimately results in dehydration and frequent thirst.
b) Extreme hunger:
When the glucose is unable to get into the cells, the body does not get adequate energy leading in extreme hunger in children.
c) Frequent trips to bathroom:
Most parents commit a mistake of considering this as a normal behavior. When the glucose is drawn out of, the body in conjunction with it's water, one may experience frequent urination resulting in the body not getting enough insulin in order to move glucose to the cells.
d) Unusual weight loss:
When the body has stored enough insulin, it tends to use the fat stored for required energy. This results in weight loss. A child may also lose weight due to fluid loss and dehydration inside the body.
e) Delayed healing:
It is natural for kids to get injured frequently when playing. This results in a lot of bruises and cuts. However, when suffering from diabetes, the cuts and bruises heal gradually. Don't think that it was just a bad injury. Contact a health care practitioner as soon as possible.
f) Blurred vision:
If you se your child's vision getting blurred contact a doctor. It would be a wise idea to go for frequent check ups as the child may not complain of it as it is not frequent.
g) Numbness in hands and feet:
This is not frequent. The child may also think that he is just tired.
B) Other symptoms indicating diabetes in children
a) Irritability
b) Kussmaul breathing
c) Stomach aches; Abdominal pain
d) Nausea; Vomiting
e) Back pain
f) Headache
g) Behavioral problems
h) Fatigue
Parents must remember that early detection can save their children from developing a lot of complications.
All you require to do is to run a blood test. This is the best and safest solution to identify diabetes.
C) Your role as a parent
Try to learn about diabetes as much as you can. You need to know all about its' symptoms, treatment measures and complications related to the disease. Once diabetes is detected, you need to learn how to give insulin injections to your child. Let your child learn about it too.
Make sure that you monitor your child's glucose levels on a daily basis. You should make yourself aware of the complications related to diabetes such as hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia and the fastest remedies for them.
You must make sure that some sugar is always with you for emergency. It is also important to submit a written plan to the school with proper instructions about meal times, snack times and immediate treatments for high or low blood sugar and even emergency contact numbers.
