February 11, 2001
Diagnosis and Symptoms
Question from Nova Scotia, Canada:
The amount of liquids my five year old son drinks (average about three glasses an hour) bothers me a great deal. he He complains of headaches a lot and is sometimes quite lethargic. However, if he has any sweets, he tends to bounce of the walls. From my very limited knowledge I wonder if he doesn’t have a sugar problem. My doctor refuses to test him because he does not urinate frequently (only once or twice a day even though he drinks so much). Should I find someone else to test my son?
Answer:
It sounds unlikely that your child has diabetes, or the rarer condition called, diabetes insipidus, in which the child is unable to concentrate urine. He may have a problem with habitual water drinking. However, it would be important to exclude diabetes, and this can be done with a simple urine test for glucose in the urine. If you are worried, go back to your doctor or find someone will do this simple urine check.
JS
