According to the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, around 15,000 children are diagnosed with type I diabetes every year. Finding out that your child has diabetes can be shocking and scary--a lifetime of insulin and finger pricks is not what parents envision for their little one. But the sooner you spot the symptoms and find the right care, the better. Your child will have less risk of complications and an easier adjustment to life with diabetes.
What Are The Symptoms of Type I Diabetes?
Most cases of type I diabetes occur during puberty, around 10 to 12 years of age in girls and around 12 to 14 years of age in boys. The symptoms often develop quickly, with parents noticing changes over a period of weeks. Every child experiences symptoms differently, but here are some of the common symptoms to look for:
- Weight loss--Unexplained, rapid weight loss, despite eating more than normal, is often the first symptom that parents notice
- Extreme hunger--Without insulin to give sugar to the body's cells, muscles and organs starve for energy, triggering intense hunger
- Increased thirst and frequent urination--As fluid is pulled away to handle excess sugar in the bloodstream, your child gets exceptionally thirsty, so you may notice more juice requests and trips to the bathroom
- Fatigue--Cells deprived of sugar can make your child tired and lethargic
- Blurred vision--High blood sugar may affect your child's ability to focus his/her eyes clearly
- Irritability or unusual behavior--Undiagnosed type I diabetes and the accompanying symptoms can (understandably) make a child unusually moody or irritable.
Yeast infections might also be a symptom of type I diabetes, like a yeast-infection-induced diaper rash that's far worse than usual. Young children and infants might also experience dehydration, abdominal pain or even flu-like symptoms.
Confirming Symptoms and Getting Treatment
At the doctor's office, they'll perform several tests to confirm if your child has type I diabetes or not. Once the doctor diagnoses the symptoms as type I diabetes, your child may get sent straight to the hospital to stabilize his/her blood sugar. This can be a scary moment, but the staff at the hospital is expertly trained--and will train you to be an expert in your child's care.
Helping Your Child Get Back to Normal
After stabilizing your child's symptoms, the pediatrician may recommend a diabetes specialist to help plan your child's long-term treatment. But your care team doesn't end there--nurses, dietitians and Certified Diabetes Educators are all great resources that you can turn to for help.
Then it's time to focus on settling into a treatment routine and reassuring your child, who might not quite comprehend all the changes that are happening. But with the right treatment and the right support, your child has every chance of living a full and happy life.
