How to Discover Type 1 Diabetes in Children

Overview

Type 1 diabetes is formerly known as juvenile diabetes because it's the most common type to start in childhood. It's an autoimmune disease where the child's beta cells in the pancreas, which normally produce insulin for proper digestion of glucose, are destroyed. There are a variety of factors that cause the disease, and some are still unknown. However, there are signs and symptoms you can look for.

Step 1

Monitor how often your child urinates, and how much. If your child has a high level of blood sugar, the kidneys respond by flushing out extra glucose through the urine. Because of this, children with diabetes urinate frequently, and in high volumes. If your child starts wetting his bed when he never has before, that could also be a sign of diabetes.

Step 2

Check for yeast infections. If your baby has a severe diaper rash that's worse than a common red skin rash, it could be caused by a yeast infection, which is often a sign of diabetes. If your daughter gets a yeast infection before puberty, that's another warning sign.

Step 3

Keep track of how much your child drinks. Kids with diabetes are abnormally thirsty, because they lose a lot of fluid through urinating so often. If your child drinks a lot, his thirst is signaling him to try to keep a normal level of body water.

Step 4

Take note of your child's energy level. Children with diabetes often feel tired, lethargic or run down, because glucose normally supplies energy, but their bodies are unable to use it properly.

Step 5

Keep an eye on your child's moods. If he's suddenly irritable or moody, or you're seeing unusual behavior, it could be triggered by diabetes.

Step 6

Watch how much your child eats. Intense hunger is a sign of diabetes, especially when accompanied with a steady or declining weight, because her body is trying to get energy from food. Insulin is needed to move glucose into the cells of your child's body, so if there's no glucose, her organs and muscles lose their energy, and this triggers excessive hunger.

Step 7

Weigh your child regularly. If she has a good appetite but loses weight, or doesn't gain a normal amount of weight as she grows, it could be a sign of diabetes. This happens because the body is breaking down stored fat and muscle, trying to provide fuel that usually comes from glucose.

Step 8

Check your child's vision. Blurred vision is often an early symptom of diabetes, caused by fluid being pulled from the lenses of his eyes to compensate for a high blood sugar level.

Step 9

Ask your child how he feels. If you've missed some of these early warning signs, chemicals called ketones can start to build up in your child's blood. This causes stomach pain, vomiting, nausea, breathing troubles, breath that smells like fruit, or in extreme cases, loss of consciousness. Some parents think these symptoms are signs of the flu or appendicitis, so they miss those, too. However, it's a serious condition known as DKA, or diabetic ketoacidosis.