I took my 4 year old son to the doctor due to his excessive thirst and urination during the day and throughout the night. Our doctor did a urine sample and it showed no sugar in the urine at all. He said it was very unusual to have no sugar in the urine. He said that there is a rare form of diabetes but, of course, before we jump to conclusions my son needs a blood test. The doctor said it could also be a stress related problem. Whilst we are awaiting to have the blood test done could you please advise us exactly what this result could mean for our son?

It’s rather hard to be helpful with so little information. I suspect though that your main anxiety has been about diabetes mellitus and if there was no sugar in the urine that diagnosis is extremely unlikely. I expect the doctor was getting a fasting blood sugar too just to be absolutely sure; but I would be very surprised if it is not normal.

The other kind of diabetes that he might have been thinking about is called diabetes insipidus which is very rare indeed in children and results in an inability to concentrate urine and thus both thirst and polyuria. A urinary tract infection is a possible explanation; but an unlikely one in a boy and certainly there can be a psychosocial basis for this. Keep in touch with the doctor.

DOB