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Tips to spot the Warning Signs of Juvenile Diabetes

Diabetes type 1 in children is commonly called juvenile diabetes; it is a very serious disease in children. There is no cure for diabetes type 1, whether in juveniles or adults, because type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease. You can manage juvenile diabetes, but you will never be able to cure it.

As a parent, you do everything to protect your child, but you cannot protect your little one from type 1 diabetes. Children are not born with juvenile diabetes, but at some time in their childhood their pancreas stops manufacturing enough insulin to carry nutrients to the cells of the body. You may not even notice anything out of the ordinary until one day your child becomes very sick and the diagnosis is made that your child has diabetes. Unfortunately, you may not find out that your child is diabetic until he/she slips into a diabetic coma. The following tips will help you spot the warning signs associated with juvenile diabetes.

When you find out your child has type 1 diabetes, you may look back and see signs that should have been obvious, but weren’t at the time. Your child may have symptoms of juvenile diabetes if he/she craves sweet drinks. You may notice that your child is thirsty all the time. It is possible that you might overlook this symptom, especially if your child is very active, and the weather is warm. Thirst in itself may not be a clue, but combined with other symptoms you may be able to suspect your child has type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Another symptom that might go overlooked is frequent urination. If your child drinks a lot, it would be natural to attribute the excessive urination is due to your child drinking a lot during the day. Your child may even begin to wet the bed during sleep, due to the inability to feel the urge to urinate during sleep. Many parents take their child to the pediatrician when something as shocking as bedwetting starts suddenly.

Another symptom of type 1 diabetes is the inability to concentrate. Your child, if school age may have trouble focusing on his/her school work. Your child may become apathetic about doing school work. Your child may also become apathetic about playing, because he/she may feel just too tired or just feel too weak to play. This tiredness and apathy is directly related to your child’s pancreas not making enough insulin to carry glucose and some proteins across the cell membrane. Your muscles and all your organ systems are fed at the cellular level, and insulin acts like a little vehicle that carries the nutrients into the cells.

Changes in eyesight is another symptom of diabetes mellitus. Your child may tell you that his/her vision is getting blurry. This change is caused by elevated blood sugars that change the shape of the lens in such a way that the eye sight changes. Chances are, if you take your child to the eye doctor, your doctor will tell you to get your child checked for diabetes. Eye doctors can see changes in the anatomy of the eye that can give clues that your child may be diabetic.

A big warning sign is weight loss. Most people with diabetes type 1 lose weight because their body isn’t getting enough nourishment. The body of a type 1 diabetic sometimes goes into a state of ketoacidosis which causes the body to burn itself for energy. If your child is tired and listless, and losing weight, you are likely to notice and take your child to the doctor. However, parents don’t always think of something so serious as type 1 diabetes when these symptoms occur. However, once they become aware of the symptoms, a parent may become suspicious enough to get their child checked.

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