September 22, 2000
Diagnosis and Symptoms
Question from Staten Island, New York, USA:
My eight year old daughter’s sugar has been around 117 mg/dl [6.5 mmol/L] as soon as she wakes up. She has been complaining of sweats during the night, and she has a vaginal itch but no infection according to her doctor. Her sugar has been above 127 mg/dl [7.1 mmol/L] during the day. She generally did not eat a lot in the past, but now here appetite is rapidly increasing. She is 4 feet 3 inches tall and weighs 50 pounds. I have a strong family history of diabetes. Do you think she may have it? If her sugar is high normal, how can I help stop her from getting diabetes? If it is diabetes, does it have to be type�1� or could she have type�2� by eating the wrong food?
Answer:
I do not think that your daughter has diabetes even though fasting blood sugar levels you report for are a little bit high for an eight year old child. I’d check her for autoantibodies first in order to rule out type�1A (autoimmune) diabetes.
MS
