November 21, 2001
Diagnosis and Symptoms
Question from Lee's Summit, Missouri, USA:
We have a family history of diabetes, I am concerned about my two year old son and six year old daughter. My son seems very happy, but is always very thirsty. He seems to constantly be drinking, but other than that he seems fine. My daughter is at a healthy weight and height, very normal, she has a “pot belly”, but is skinnier everywhere else. She is very pale even though her skin tone is olive. She doesn’t drink as much, but is constantly hungry. She gets sick a lot with throat problems, congestion, and ear infections. She is also very tired and has to eat right when she is hungry or she gets irritable. The doctor said this is normal for kids. She has had regular doctor checkups, but I am not sure that she has been checked or even needs to be checked for diabetes. Is it ever okay to just ask the doctor to check for diabetes in my children or is there some sort of home test I can do?
Answer:
It is very easy to check for diabetes in children. A simple urine test will tell whether or not your children have diabetes. If you are worried, I would suggest you ask your children’s doctor to check for it.
It is most likely that the excessive drinking is a habitual problem, but if you are still concerned go back to the doctor. Your older child does not sound as though she has diabetes, but it would be worth letting your doctor know of her problems again to see if she should be rechecked.
JS
[Editor’s comment: Definitive testing for diabetes should include blood sugar levels performed by a medical laboratory. Urine sugar tests or home glucose testing, if done, might be positive, which would make the situation more urgent to get lab testing done to confirm the abnormal results. However, urine or home glucose testing, if negative, would not completely exclude diabetes.
WWQ]