As a parent, you hear the word diabetes and panic. There’s nothing more terrifying than having a child diagnosed with a medical condition and feeling that undeniable guilt. However, with medical conditions such as diabetes, it’s important to remember that it’s neither yours nor your child’s fault.
Whether you’ve noticed anything recently in your child’s behaviours or habits, it’s always good to know the signs and symptoms. With that being said, here are some tell-tale symptoms that your child may have diabetes.
They’re using the toilet a lot more frequently
Is your child asking to go to the toilet more often than normal? If they’ve not necessarily changed their habits when it comes to drinking water or liquids, it might be something that you find concerning.
A frequent trip to the toilet could indicate bladder problems in general and granted, some children and adults will have weaker bladders than others. However, if you find your child is using the toilet a lot more frequently than normal, this could be an early indicator that they have diabetes.
The same goes for more frequent pees if they’re still in nappies.
Unintentional weight loss
There are lots of services that are making diabetes easier to manage. One of the main symptoms that come with diabetes is that the individual will usually have unintentional and unexplained weight loss.
Unintentional weight loss of any degree is frightening, especially in younger children. It’ll be an obvious indicator that something is wrong, so it’s worth getting your child seen by a doctor as soon as you spot it.
Be quick to act on this symptom because the more weight they’re losing, the more dangerous it becomes to their health in general. This is particularly the case for those at a younger age.
Fatigue
This is a difficult symptom to distinguish as being the immediate link to diabetes because everyone gets fatigued at times. Whether that’s after a particularly exhausting day at school or a week away on a family holiday.
Fatigue is something to be mindful of because if it’s happening more frequently than just the occasional moment here and there, it could hold a more significant problem. Keep track of how much sleep your child is getting and whether this is contributing positively to the fatigue – or if it’s not making a difference at all.
Blurred vision
Blurred vision is something to be tuned into, especially when it comes to your child’s daily activities and habits. Monitor them closely as not all children will be vocal about having blurred vision when experiencing it.
If they’re messing with their eyes or squinting, then it’s worth getting this checked out. It could be something less harmful, like vision correction in the form of glasses or contact lenses.
Increased thirst
An increased thirst is a tell-tale sign of diabetes, alongside the frequency of toilet trips. If your child is drinking water to an excess and not satisfied, then this might be something you look to get checked out.
Diabetes isn’t something to be afraid of and there are plenty of resources that can help, should you discover your child is diagnosed with it.