Childhood Diabetes Symptoms

The most common type of diabetes which is prevalent among children is the Type I Diabetes. 90-95% of children below the age of 16 suffer from this specific type of diabetes. It is typically caused by the pancreas’ inability to produce insulin. Childhood diabetes is an autoimmune disease whose root cause is not clearly understood. However, major researches and studies have made a clear cut observation regarding childhood diabetes symptoms in children. The cause behind childhood diabetes is considered to be genetic and can be triggered by environmental reasons.

Childhood Diabetes

Symptoms of Childhood Diabetes

The main key symptoms of diabetes in children are similar to that of the symptoms experienced by the adults.

These symptoms usually follow a pattern of re occurrence and are somewhat episodic in nature. Few of the major symptoms of childhood diabetes are:

  • Thirst- Children suffering from diabetes tend to drink excessive quantity of water as their body demands for it. Children showing sign such as this should be looked into by parents and they should seek immediate medical help.
  • Weight loss- Diabetic children, like diabetic adults lose a lot of weight in spite of eating right and considerable amount of food. The weight loss that takes place in diabetic affected children is at an abnormally rapid rate.
  • Tiredness- Fatigue, laziness, tiredness and inactiveness is a major symptom of diabetes. Children are supposed to be playful, active and up on their toes all the time. When a parent notices inactiveness and feeling of fatigue in their children, then the parents should look deeper into it. It is a major sphere of concern.
  • Frequent Urination- Thirst and frequent urination is directly related to each other. Drinking excessive amount of water and frequent urination is a key symptom of diabetes. There is an increased level of thirst and urination among diabetic children.

Specific Symptoms in Children

There are certain symptoms that are noticed in child diabetic patients and not very common among adults. These specific symptoms are:

  • Fruity odour to breath
  • Vision and sight changes
  • Stomach aches
  • Headaches
  • Behavioral and learning disabilities

Children suffering from diabetes should have a change in lifestyle. Proper diet and a lot of physical activity should be incorporated in their daily routine. A diabetic child lives with this health condition for a longer period of time than an adult who has developed it at a much later age. Therefore it is very essential for parents to pay more attention towards their diabetic children so that the disease is prevented and the child is secured from long term complications such as eye or kidney damage and even multi organ failure.