From the critical case of a 15-year-old child with diabetes, it is necessary to take him to the doctor immediately if he sees these signs-Health

According to the doctors, if you see your child has symptoms such as: Frequent urination at night; or thirsty, drink a lot of water; weight loss, fatigue; emotional changes, hunger… Parents need to take their children to the doctor right away because there is a high risk of diabetes in children.

Recently, Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital has received a 15-year-old child hospitalized in a critical condition due to diabetes.

According to the family, 4 days before admission, the child showed signs of nausea, vomiting, excessive fatigue, and frequent urination. The family sent the child to a private clinic to be diagnosed with enteritis and prescribed medication for the treatment. drinking, intravenous fluids but not helping.

In the morning when admitted to the hospital, the child was very tired, urinated a lot, vomited food many times, lost 6 kg in 4 days, changed consciousness, so the family worriedly took the child to the emergency room at Tan Ky District Medical Center, then was transferred to Nghe An Obstetrics and Children’s Hospital for further treatment in a state of lethargy, slurred speech, rapid, shallow breathing, SpO2: 90%, rapid heart rate, hot dry skin, dry lips.

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At the Emergency Department, doctors quickly diagnosed the child with diabetic ketoacidosis with very high blood sugar. Children were assigned to breathe oxygen through a mask, immediately set up two intravenous lines for rapid fluid resuscitation, blood collection for emergency testing, use of drugs to control blood sugar, electrocardiogram at bed, continuous hemodynamic monitoring through catheters. .

Thanks to the timely emergency, the child passed the critical crisis, consulted and agreed on the treatment plan with the Endocrinology specialist and continued to be monitored and treated at the Hospital’s Emergency Anti-Poisoning Department.

Causes of childhood diabetes

According to doctors, diabetes is a non-communicable disease, common in children and adolescents, mainly type 1 (insulin dependent) diabetes, due to the inability of the pancreas to produce enough insulin.

With type 2 diabetes (insulin resistance), it is rare in children. However, the disease has increased with an increase in the prevalence of childhood obesity, which is common after puberty. The main cause is being overweight or obese, often related to lifestyle such as insufficient exercise, eating too much, unhealthy eating (too much fat, too much sugar or starch).

In addition, in children, it is possible to develop neonatal diabetes, young-onset diabetes, or diabetes associated with other medical conditions that damage the pancreas (secondary diabetes mellitus). ).

Disease warning signs

According to doctors at the National Children’s Hospital, when children have advanced diabetes, blood sugar levels rise above normal, usually 5-10 times higher than normal. At that time, excess glucose spills into the urine, pulling water with it, leading to an increase in urine output and causing dehydration.

Children who are overweight or obese have an increased risk of diabetes. Illustration

Along with that, patients may lose weight weeks to months after the disease. Two common symptoms are a child’s fatigue and emotional changes due to an unwell body.

In addition, some other signs of the disease should also be noticed such as: Infection of the mouth, vagina or skin; stomachache; academic performance declines due to physical unwellness; or hungry…

According to Dr. BS Tran Van Cuong, Deputy Director of Nghe An Obstetrics and Children’s Hospital, diabetes in children is often discovered by chance during medical check-up. In the early stages, the symptoms are often unclear and easy to mistake. It is confused with other diseases and in children the symptoms are even more difficult to detect.

Therefore, children admitted to the hospital are often in a severe stage, in a state of metabolic acidosis, pre-coma, coma, if not treated promptly, the child may be in critical condition, threatening to die quickly.

In addition, children may also experience long-term complications of the disease such as damage to blood vessels in the retina: vision loss, dizziness, which can lead to blindness; in the kidney: proteinuria, possible renal failure; in the legs: cold feet, purple-red, ulcers; Nerve damage: numbness, burning, leg pain.

Therefore, experts recommend, if children are showing signs and symptoms of diabetes (frequent urination at night; or thirst, drink a lot of water; weight loss, fatigue; change in feeling contact…) should take the child to medical facilities for timely examination, detection and treatment, to avoid complications later.