10 Diabetes symptoms in children

1. Sudden vision changes (or altered vision) need investigating – they should not be attributed to too much time in front of the television or computer screen.

2. Parents may detect a sweet smelling breath, another child diabetes symptom, but may attribute it to something the child has eaten.

3. Frequent urination (or polyuria) – this may become apparent to parents if traveling with children, but just around the home it can be difficult to spot as children simply take themselves to the bathroom.

4. Sugar in the urine would only be noticed by a specific medical test and it is not something a parent would notice in the home environment.

5. A sudden weight loss may be noticed but in this age of obesity it may be welcomed too!

6. Extreme thirst (also known as polydipsia) – is not unusual in children, especially in warm weather. Moreover, when children are old and tall enough to reach the refrigerator door, it can be difficult to monitor their fluid intake.

7. Increased appetites may be noticed but since children are growing and can have large appetites, why would parents consider this to be a bad thing at all!

8. Drowsiness and lethargy, unless excessive, may not be noticed or remarked upon. Nowadays, most children lead rather sedentary lifestyles and lethargy may not be detected easily.

9. Stupor and unconsciousness will be noticed but by this stage the glucose levels have reached dangerous levels and the damage may be irreversible.

10. Although heavy, laboured breathing is another symptom, it can be easily mistaken for other respiratory problems, which are apparently more prevalent in children nowadays.

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