Diabetes in children: signs

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Extract from the article: Diabetes is a group of chronic diseases characterised by a permanent increase in blood sugar levels. There are several types of diabetes, the cause of which may be due either to a defect in insulin secretion by the pancreas, or to a defect in the act

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Diabetes is a group of chronic diseases characterised by a permanent increase in blood sugar levels. There are several types of diabetes, the cause of which may be due either to a defect in insulin secretion by the pancreas, or to a defect in the action of this insulin, or both. Type 1 diabetes in children is due to a defect in insulin secretion, caused by destruction of the cells that secrete this insulin. How can we recognise the signs of diabetes in children? How do you manage your child's diabetes?

In children, diabetes is manifested by very obvious signs. An adult can have diabetes for years without any real overt signs, whereas in children the signs are always noisy. « They urinate a lot, especially at night. So if you have a child who has stopped wetting the bed and is starting to do so again, this should raise a red flag. They lose a lot of weight and are always thirsty. They tend to eat a lot », says Dr Yempabou Sagna, an endocrinologist at the Yalgado Ouedraogo University Hospital in Burkina Faso.

What's more, according to Dr Ekoué-Kouvahey, President of the NGO Volontaires Internationaux pour la Promotion de Santé en Afrique (VISA), « the more a child eats, the thinner they really are, and this thinning is associated with very intense fatigue ». While children are the most prone to insulin-dependent diabetes, it should be pointed out that there are now cases of insulin-resistant diabetes among young people.  In Togo, Dr Damien Ekoué-Kouvahey estimates that 8% of children are carriers of diabetes. And these figures are just the tip of the iceberg.

« Childhood diabetes is a calamity. To this day in Togo, the discovery of diabetes in a child causes distress within the family, because this is tantamount to a death sentence for the child within a very short period of time, unfortunately, given the paltry resources available for treatment. Not all complications of diabetes are inevitable », explained Prof Dégnon Amedegnato, Director of the Centre Omnithérapeutique Africain (COA).

How do you manage your child's diabetes?

You need to approach diabetes specialists to understand this type of diabetes, which is different from adult diabetes and is also managed differently because of the insulin used. Parents need to learn how to handle insulin, know how to give injections and encourage their children to be able to give their own injections, says Dr Yempabou Sagna, endocrinologist at the CHU Yalgado Ouedraogo.

« In terms of blood sugar checks, it's quite restrictive because you have to be able to check blood sugar levels at least twice a day, in the morning and in the evening before meals. But the ideal would be to do it 4 to 6 times a day », recommends endocrinologist Dr Yempabou Sagna.

« These children need to live, grow and have fun like other children. So they need a family environment that's adapted to them. As far as food is concerned, these children should eat normally like other children, as long as the treatment is followed and blood sugar levels are properly checked », says Dr Yempabou Sagna.  On the medical front, the government and its development partners must do more to mobilise resources to provide insulin, glucometers with strips and syringes free of charge in internal medicine departments.

It is therefore essential to provide children and young people with education in the fight against diabetes, and to carry out free screening followed by free interdisciplinary treatment. The aim is to significantly improve the health of children and young people by reducing diabetes-related morbidity and mortality and the costs of treating non-communicable diseases.

William O.