Children get diabetes too!
DKA
Every year, around 60 children under 15 years of age are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in Auckland.
Their body can't make enough insulin to use the sugar in the blood. So, the body starts to burn fat, which turns to waste known as 'ketones'.
If type 1 diabetes is not diagnosed early, the levels of ketone rise and become poisonous. This is a serious condition called diabetic ketoacidosis (or DKA).
Children with DKA have to stay in hospital for a long time. Some children may need to go to intensive care, and some may even die.
In Auckland, 1 in 4 children diagnosed with type 1 diabetes have DKA.
DKA can develop very fast. But DKA can be prevented if type 1 diabetes is diagnosed early.
So, it is important to know the symptoms of type 1 diabetes!
Diabetes symptoms
Your child could have type 1 diabetes if he/she has recently started to:
- Urinate ('pee') too often
- Wet the bed
- Go to the toilet in the night
- Drink too much
Children with type 1 diabetes may also:
- Lose weight
- Feel too tired
Children with DKA may:
- Have tummy pain
- Feel sick and vomit
- Have trouble breathing
- Feel confused
- Feel weak and floppy
So, if you think your child may have type 1 diabetes, please see your doctor immediately for a diabetes check!
Remember, it is very important to diagnose type 1 diabetes early!
Spreading the message
If you would like to share this important and simple message with family and friends, you can download a copy of our campaign poster.
(420.6 kB, PDF)
Click here for more information on type 1 diabetes.
Or watch this very helpful video about diabetes.
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