Juvenile Diabetes
Although the increase in obesity in
children is beginning to increase the incidence of these overweight
children developing type 2 diabetes, it is usually type 1 diabetes
that develops in juveniles.
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It appears that, as with
many of the common diseases of the endocrine system, an
auto-immune problem is the root cause of type 1 diabetes.
The body’s natural defence mechanisms begin to turn on body
tissue as well as or rather than the invaders they are
designed to destroy. In the case of type 1 diabetes, the
immune system destroys the valuable beta cells within the
pancreas that are responsible for the production and release
of insulin.
Without beta cells there can
be no naturally produced insulin and glucose levels rapidly
escalate to dangerous levels.
Parents need to be vigilant.
Diabetes is still associated with overweight, middle aged
individuals who are deemed to be paying the price for
earlier life excesses. No-one expects their child to develop
this disease. |
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Unfortunately, early symptoms
are subtle and very easy to attribute to other childhood
illnesses, conditions and ways of being:
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Extreme thirst – is not unusual in
children, especially in warm weather. Also, once
children are old enough and tall enough to reach the
refrigerator door it can be difficult to monitor their
fluid intake.
Frequent urination – this may become apparent to parents
if travelling with children, but just around the home it
can be difficult to spot as children simply take
themselves to the bathroom.
Sudden vision changes need investigating – they should
not be attributed to too much time in front of the
television or computer screen.
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. |
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Sweet smelling breath may be noticed by parents
and may equally well be attributed to something the child has
eaten.
Increased appetites may be remarked upon, but of course children
are growing and can have large appetites – why would a parent
necessarily consider this to be a bad thing?
A sudden weight loss may be noticed but in this age of obesity
it may be welcomed too.
Drowsiness and lethargy, unless excessive, may not be noticed or
remarked upon. Many children now lead very sedentary lifestyles
and lethargy may simply not be noticed.
Heavy, laboured breathing is another symptom which can be masked
by any number of respiratory problems which seem to be more
prevalent in children nowadays.
Stupor and unconsciousness will be noticed but by this stage the
glucose levels have reached dangerous levels and the damage may
be irreversible.
From this symptom list, it
becomes apparent how important it is for parents to be vigilant.
In this day and age when everyone is so busy it can be very easy
to overlook differences in children. Distraction with the work
or domestic problems of the day can cause what should be quite
obvious clues to be missed.
All parents should make
themselves aware of the symptoms of type 1 diabetes so they can
respond quickly in the event that their child develops this
disease. The earlier treatment is sought, the less damage is
done.
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