foot and mouth There may be other family members who are diabetic, or there may have been diabetes in the family in the past. SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS The earliest signs of diabetes are increased hunger, increased thirst, and increased urination. The child will both urinate more often and produce greater amounts of urine. Other symptoms then appear, including weight loss, fatigue, and irritability. Most cases are detected by this stage. If diabetes is not detected and corrected, deep, rapid breathing followed by unconsciousness (diabetic coma) eventually develops. If you notice any of these symptoms, see your doctor. An exact diagnosis can be made only through laboratory tests. children require insulin injections and can be taught, from ur years of age, how to give themselves injections. Diabetes mellitus nuick Reference HOME CARE Do not try to treat a diabetic child on your own. Your doctor must diagnose diabetes and prescribe treatment. The doctor will tailor the treatment to your child's exact needs. Then you must carefully follow the doctor's instructions for caring for the child at home. You and your child must learn as much as possible about diabetes. The doctor will give instructions for making necessary changes in the child's diet, giving insulin, and testing the urine. You will learn how to recognize and treat insulin shock (caused by too little sugar in the blood) and diabetic coma (caused by too much sugar in the blood). PRECAUTIONS • Bedwetting that suddenly occurs regularly after a child has been toilettrained for some time may be a sign of developing diabetes. The child's urine should be tested for diabetes (and urinary tract infection) if bedwetting continues. • If there is diabetes in your family background, try to keep your children from becoming overweight. If a child already has an inherited tendency toward diabetes, being overweight increases the possibility that diabetes will develop as the child grows older. • Untreated and uncontrolled diabetes may lead to dehydration (a serious loss of body fluids) caused by increased urination. Complicating this situation is the fact that the amount of urine output is not a reliable sign of dehydration in a diabetic child. MEDICAL TREATMENT To properly diagnose diabetes, the doctor will order several laboratory tests. A urinalysis will test for extra sugar and ketone bodies in the urine. A blood test can detect unusually high amounts of sugar in the blood. In a glucose tolerance test, the child drinks a known amount of glucose (a form of sugar); the level of glucose in the blood is then measured from time to time over several hours. If diabetes is found, your doctor may hospitalize your child to regulate the diet and determine the amount of insulin the child will need to take. If the child is dehydrated or has ketone bodies in the blood and urine, these conditions will also be treated in the hospital. chicken