April 6, 2001
Diagnosis and Symptoms
Question from Burlington, Ontario, Canada:
I am a concerned mother. For the past two months, my six and one-half year daughter has been irritable, has had frequent urination, is hungry and thirsty all the time, complains of “not feeling well” with upset stomach, is sore in her vaginal area (off and on), and has headaches. The only symptom she does not have is weight loss. There is a family of type 2 diabetes on both sides. The thing is, the symptoms are sometimes more predominate for a few weeks at a time then kind of mellow out for a while. I know adults symptoms can be mild, but I was told children symptoms are really predominant. Can they come and go like that?
Answer:
Symptoms of diabetes are very variable. If you are worried about whether your child has diabetes, a simple urine test is all that you need to do to find out. I would suggest that you go and see your daughter’s doctor, explain the symptoms, and say you are worried that it may be due to diabetes. I am sure he/she will be only too happy to check it out.
JS
