Type 1 diabetes used to known as juvenile diabetes, because it virtually only affected kids. "The risk of juvenile diabetes is higher than virtually all other severe chronic diseases of childhood," according to USA Today. They say that of the estimated 17 million people in the U.S. with diabetes, 1.4 million of them have type 1. However, children can also get type 2 diabetes, formerly known as adult-onset diabetes, and while some symptoms are similar, others are unique.
Early Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes actually has three names; besides juvenile diabetes, it has also been called insulin-dependent diabetes, because insulin injections are required to keep it in check. It's caused by the autoimmune system destroying the insulin-producing B cells normally found in the pancreas; as a result, glucose levels in the blood are too high. While symptoms can come on slowly, they can also appear very suddenly. Often bed-wetting in a child that formerly didn't have the problem, or a yeast infection in a pre-pubescent girl, is the first sign of type 1 diabetes. Other symptoms may include frequent urination, due to the kidneys flushing out extra glucose; intense thirst or hunger, to counteract the loss of fluid; sudden weight loss, even with a good appetite, because the body breaks down muscle and fat stores for added nutrition; extreme fatigue, weakness or lethargy because the body isn't properly using glucose to provide energy; numb or tingling hands and feet; and blurred vision.
Late Type 1 Diabetes
If the early signs of type 1 diabetes aren't detected, and treatment isn't given, chemicals known as ketones often accumulate in a child's blood. This leads to a condition called diabetic ketoacidosis, or DKA, which can cause pain in the stomach, nausea, vomiting, a fruity odor to the breath, heavy breathing, or in extreme cases, loss of consciousness. While additional serious symptoms don't usually show up during the first few years, a diabetic child who hasn't controlled the disease may later experience long-term complications like impaired vision or blindness; damaged blood vessels, which lead to heart disease, stroke or obstructed arteries; nerve problems, which can lead to digestive issues or foot ulcers; and kidney damage or failure.
Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes also has three names, the third after adult-onset diabetes being non-insulin-dependent diabetes. This is because the body still produces insulin, but in limited amounts; this insulin resistance is most often caused by obesity, but other risk factors include a family history of type 2 diabetes, or being of a racial group that tends to get it more often: black, Hispanic, Asian-American and Native American. Symptoms include frequent urination, increased thirst and hunger, weight loss, fatigue, blurred vision, frequent infections that heal slowly and patches of darkened skin in the body's creases and folds---such as under the arms or on the neck---which is known as acanthosis nigricans, often an early-warning sign of resistance to insulin.
