Baierbrunn (ots) – Diabetes in young children? Don’t you only get diabetes when you get older? “A lot of people still believe that,” says pediatric endocrinologist and diabetologist Dr. Thomas Kapellen, chief physician at the Median Children’s Hospital in Naumburg. “But diabetes can develop as early as crawling age.” In the pharmacy magazine “Baby und Familie” parents can find out what warning signs they should look out for.
Caution: Symptoms seem harmless
In contrast to type 2 diabetes, also known as “adult-onset diabetes”, type 1 diabetes as an autoimmune disease throws the blood sugar out of balance in children and adolescents. The immune system attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. Without The body cannot inject insulin from the glucose from food into the cells and use it as a source of energy – the blood sugar therefore rises.
Parents should pay attention to four warning signs: the children drink a lot, have to go to the toilet all the time or are always in diapers full, are limp, tired and lose weight even though they are eating normally. It doesn’t seem all that dramatic – but that’s exactly the problem, warns the expert Kapellen. Because if type 1 diabetes remains undetected and untreated, the high blood sugar levels could quickly derail the metabolism, especially in younger children.
If there is any suspicion, go to the pediatrician’s office immediately
If parents notice symptoms that indicate diabetes, they should come to the pediatrician’s practice immediately, where the suspicion can be checked with a simple urine sample and backed up with a blood test. Because untreated type 1 diabetes can quickly turn into a threatening emergency. Thomas Kapellen believes that attentive parents are the most likely to notice when their child changes. “Then don’t hesitate to see the doctor,” he encourages. The motto applies: Better to act too worried than too careless.
This report is only free for publication with a reference to the source. The pharmacy magazine “Baby und Familie” 4/2022 is currently available in most pharmacies. There is also a lot of relevant health news at baby-und-familie.de (https://www.apotheken-umschau.de/hefte/baby-und-familie) and on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com /babyundfamilie.de/) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/babyundfamilie/).
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