Diagnosing Children with Juvenile Diabetes
Diagnosing diseases or disorders is quite difficult among young ones as we normally consider their response to be greatly varied. Detecting juvenile diabetes is easily done if you are knowledgeable about the manifestations to look for. A parent must be very alert on looking for more symptoms like when your child abruptly complains of being thirsty and hungry more frequently than he used to. The diagnosis of the disease is essential to sustain wellness and to avoid further harm to your child’s body.
Aside from having a comprehensive physical examination and history taking, physicians will also perform various laboratory examinations. There are various examinations available to detect the occurrence of juvenile diabetes, such as urinalysis, glucose tolerance test, blood test, HbA1c (glycohemoglobin), and fasting blood sugar.
The patient will be required to provide a urine sample for urinalysis. The specimen will be examined for the presence of ketones and glucose. Ketones are acid components that may accumulate in the urine and bloodstream when a diabetic body utilizes adipose tissues instead of glucose as a source of energy. A fasting blood sugar examination includes an overnight fast. The blood specimen will be drawn after having an eight hour fast. It can be performed by using glucose sensors, installed in a glucose meter.
A simple blood test is utilized to gauge the quantity of glucose within the bloodstream. The glucose tolerance examination is able to measure the ability of a patient’s body to process sugar. In this test, glucose levels in the urine and bloodstream are observed for three hours subsequent to drinking a huge dose of sugar-containing solution. The HbA1c or glycohemoglobin test reveals the collective effects of having high levels of blood glucose. It also measures the extent of control over blood sugar levels after the commencing the patient’s treatment regimen.
Subsequent to having a diagnosis of juvenile diabetes, the patient’s glucose levels must be checked regularly to ensure that the levels will remain the way they must be. It may result to having high levels of anxiety at the impression of the lifelong management that the disease may require. A good emotional support is very important, especially in the initial stages of the management. After a short time of adjustments, they will be accustomed to the customary insulin injections required to maintain the glucose levels within the normal range. It is also necessary for parents to manage their children’s lifestyle as a whole.
