$Unique_ID{PAR00054}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{Medical Advice:  Diabetes Mellitus}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{
Editors of Consumer Guide
Chasnoff, Ira J}
$Subject{Diabetes Mellitus Increased hunger thirst Frequent urination Greater
urine bed-wetting Weight loss Fatigue Irritability Deep rapid breathing
unconsciousness diabetic coma dehydration carbohydrates sugars starches
pancreas insulin ketone bodies blood sugar urinalysis ketones glucose
tolerance test}
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Your Child:  A Medical Guide


Diabetes Mellitus


     Quick Reference

     SYMPTOMS
     - Increased hunger
     - Increased thirst
     - Frequent urination
     - Greater amounts of urine than usual
     - Sudden onset of bed-wetting
     - Weight loss
     - Fatigue
     - Irritability
     - Deep, rapid breathing and unconsciousness (diabetic coma)

     HOME CARE
     - Do not try to treat on your own.  See your doctor for diagnosis and
       instructions for home care.

     PRECAUTIONS
     - See your doctor if a toilet-trained child suddenly begins regular
       bed-wetting.
     - If there is diabetes in your family background, your child should be
       regularly screened for diabetes.
     - Untreated or uncontrolled diabetes can lead to dehydration.


     Diabetes mellitus is a condition in which the body does not properly
process carbohydrates (sugars and starches).  In children, it occurs when the
pancreas does not produce enough insulin.  Sugars and starches are the body's
main sources of energy.  When the body cannot properly turn sugars and
starches into energy, abnormally high amounts of unused sugars are found in
the blood and urine.  Also, because the body must burn more fats for energy in
place of sugars, ketone bodies (chemical compounds that are an end product of
that process) are found in the urine.
     Diabetes can occur at any age.  It appears in one in 2,500 children by
the age of 15.  The disease usually runs in families.  The parents may or may
not be diabetic.  There may be other family members who are diabetic, or there
may have been diabetes in the family in the past.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

     The earliest signs of diabetes are increased hunger, increased thirst,
and increased urination.  The child will both urinate more often and produce
greater amounts of urine.  Other symptoms then appear, including weight loss,
fatigue, and irritability.  Most cases are detected by this stage.  If
diabetes is not detected and corrected, deep, rapid breathing followed by
unconsciousness (diabetic coma) eventually develops.  If you notice any of
these symptoms, see your doctor.  An exact diagnosis can be made only through
laboratory tests.

HOME CARE

     Do not try to treat a diabetic child on your own.  Your doctor must
diagnose diabetes and prescribe treatment.  The doctor will tailor the
treatment to your child's exact needs.  Then you must carefully follow the
doctor's instructions for caring for the child at home.
     You and your child must learn as much as possible about diabetes.  The
doctor will give instructions for making necessary changes in the child's
diet, giving insulin, and testing the urine.  You will learn how to recognize
and treat insulin shock (caused by too little sugar in the blood) and diabetic
coma (caused by too much sugar in the blood).

PRECAUTIONS

  -  Bed-wetting that suddenly occurs regularly after a child has been
     toilet-trained for some time may be a sign of developing diabetes.  The
     child's urine should be tested for diabetes (and urinary tract infection)
     if bed-wetting continues.
  -  If there is diabetes in your family background, try to keep your children
     from becoming overweight.  If a child already has an inherited tendency
     toward diabetes, being overweight increases the possibility that diabetes
     will develop as the child grows older.
  -  Untreated and uncontrolled diabetes may lead to dehydration (a serious
     loss of body fluids) caused by increased urination.  Complicating this
     situation is the fact that the amount of urine output is not a reliable
     sign of dehydration in a diabetic child.

MEDICAL TREATMENT

     To properly diagnose diabetes, the doctor will order several laboratory
tests.  A urinalysis will test for extra sugar and ketone bodies in the urine.
A blood test can detect unusually high amounts of sugar in the blood.  In a
glucose tolerance test, the child drinks a known amount of glucose (a form of
sugar); the level of glucose in the blood is then measured from time to time
over several hours.
     If diabetes is found, your doctor may hospitalize your child to regulate
the diet and determine the amount of insulin the child will need to take.  If
the child is dehydrated or has ketone bodies in the blood and urine, these
conditions will also be treated in the hospital.  Before discharging your
child, your doctor will make certain that you and the child understand how
insulin should be given and how the child's diet should be changed.  Most
diabetic children require insulin daily and are instructed--from as early as
four years of age--to give themselves injections.

RELATED TOPICS:  Bed-wetting; Dehydration