Diabetes in children
In babies, toddlers and also in children it is usually diabetes type 1 that occurs. In this autoimmune disease, which can be congenital or develop over the course of a lifetime, the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas are destroyed. However, specific symptoms only occur when more than 80% of the cells have already been destroyed.
It is noticeable with this type of diabetes that the symptoms appear very suddenly in children. They can develop within a few weeks and appear very strongly. The first signs include frequent urination and very strong thirst.
The children often have to go to the toilet or wet their bed at night. In addition, the child is tired and exhausted and has a strong weight loss. The child usually has dry skin and often suffers infections.
Strong stomach pains can also occur. The child’s breath often smells of acetone. Parents notice this by the fact that the children smell of nail polish remover from their mouths.
Type 1 diabetes can also occur in infants and is manifested by the babies drinking excessively and the diaper being constantly wet. All these symptoms are less severe in type 2 diabetes, develop slowly and therefore often go unnoticed at first. Type 2 diabetes is much less common in children than type 1 diabetes, as it often develops due to poor diet and lack of exercise.
In the normal prescribed preventive examinations for infants and children, no diabetes test is performed. Only if diabetes is suspected in an infant or child does the pediatrician usually perform a urine and blood test to determine the amount of sugar. Certain antibodies can also be determined to distinguish between type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
Diabetes in pregnant women
Gestational diabetes is also called gestational diabetes. As a rule, this is not dangerous and often the expectant mothers do not even notice that they have gestational diabetes because they do not have any symptoms.It does not cause the typical signs of diabetes such as increased thirst or frequent urination. It is nevertheless very important that the pregnant woman is examined for gestational diabetes.
If it exists, it is very important to treat it, otherwise serious consequences for the child and the mother can occur. If pregnancy diabetes is untreated, the amount of amniotic fluid can increase greatly and the child can grow very quickly. At the same time, however, there are also delays in the development of the child‘s organs.
For this reason, screening for gestational diabetes between the 24th and 28th week of pregnancy is covered by health insurance companies. This is often the only way to detect gestational diabetes. Only very rarely is pregnancy diabetes suspected on the basis of symptoms.
This is because they are very unspecific. Frequent urinary tract infections or vaginal mycosis can be a first sign. Further information on this topic can be found on the following pages: An overview of all topics in the field of internal medicine can be found under Internal Medicine A-Z.
- Diabetes mellitus
- Diabetes mellitus type 1
- Diabetes mellitus type 2
- Diabetes mellitus therapy
- Gestational Diabetes
- Burning in the fingers
