High sugar in a child: why does glucose increase in children? Diabetes mellitus in young children, symptoms.

Diabetes mellitus is a disease of the pancreas, in children it is of a special nature.

The disease is more severe in children younger age. Most often, the disease develops from the age of 6, but its manifestation is also possible in newborn children, if the pathology is congenital.

In children 1-2 years of age diabetes provokes heredity. In young patients, the disease most often develops according to type 1, that is, insulin-dependent diabetes.

Symptoms in children are similar to symptoms in adults.:

  1. Increase in the volume of urine. It is important that this pathology is characterized by urinary incontinence. Uninformed parents may not take note of this symptom if their children are still very young. And they associate it with the fact that the child is not yet potty trained.
  2. Increased appetite.
  3. Strong thirst. A child can drink up to 10 liters of water per day.
  4. Itching and dry skin, pustular diseases.
  5. Rapid weight loss.
  6. Urinalysis shows the presence of glucose and acetone.
  7. Blood sugar - over 5.5 mmol / l.
  8. Lethargy, drowsiness, fatigue.
  9. Irritation of the genital mucosa, especially after urination. Girls often develop thrush.
  10. Ketoacidosis is critical situation, accompanied by the smell of rotten apples from the mouth, pain in the abdomen, nausea, vomiting, lethargy, change in breathing. If help is not provided, a coma may develop.

It should be noted the features of the development of diabetes in different age periods. Signs of diabetes in a child 3-4 years old grow rapidly and have bright manifestations. In addition, children at this age will not be able to clearly indicate to you what is bothering them. Therefore, they often go to the hospital in serious condition, and only an analysis of blood glucose levels will help doctors recognize the unfortunate ailment.

Older children already make verbal contact and are able to explain what is bothering them. Symptoms of diabetes in children 5-6 years old They may report nausea as well as headaches.

Adolescents aged 10-12 the main manifestations are joined by such signs as visual impairment, fatigue, and a decrease in academic performance.

Causes of diabetes in children

The main reason for the development of "sweet" disease in children is dysfunction of the pancreas, because of which she secretes little insulin. Glucose is not absorbed by the body, but accumulates in the blood. The tissues do not receive proper nutrition, and the body does not receive energy.

The normal level of sugar in the blood depends on the age indicator:

  • 0-2 years - 2.78 - 4.4 mmol / l;
  • 2-6 years - 3.3-5 mmol / l;
  • From 6 years old - 3.3-5.5 mmol / l.

If such indicators in the blood are exceeded above the age norm, the development of the disease can be suspected. The picture is aggravated by the fact that the pancreas is fully formed only by the age of 5. It is still difficult for her to cope with stress, which increases the risk of developing the disease.

Factors influencing the development of "sugar" disease can be:

  • heredity- if one of the parents suffers from this ailment, he will surely reward his future child with it. Therefore, it is important to control the sugar level in such children, since the disease can overtake suddenly at any age;
  • viral diseases. It has been established that viruses have a detrimental effect on the pancreas, simply destroying its cells;
  • sugar abuse puts an additional load on the gland, because of this, it simply cannot cope with its function;
  • sedentary lifestyle;
  • frequent respiratory infections They stimulate the production of antibodies. Subsequently, even in the absence pathogenic flora, antibodies continue to be produced, destroying the cells of the body.

Diabetes mellitus in the baby

Illness infantsruns pretty hard.

Another problem is that it is difficult to diagnose. After all, these kids won't tell you what's bothering them. And signs such as lethargy or restlessness can have many causes.

Diabetes mellitus in infants is primarily a hereditary disease.

But there are also other predisposing factors:

  • prematurity - in connection with this, the pancreas in such children is deeply undeveloped;
  • infections;
  • taking certain drugs during pregnancy by the mother;
  • smoking, alcohol, drugs taken during childbearing;
  • early feeding with cow's milk and cereals.

Signs of the disease may appear already in a newborn baby or months later.. You should pay attention to such symptoms:

  • the child constantly wants to eat, but does not gain weight;
  • the skin of the baby is dry, flaky, diaper rash often forms;
  • frequent, profuse urination;
  • if you give the baby water with anxiety, he calms down for a while;
  • urine, drying up, forms a white coating on the diaper;
  • the child is tense, restless or, conversely, lethargic, indifferent;
  • retraction of the fontanel.

The development of the disease in children under one year is rapid. At the same time, signs of ketoacidosis increase. There is diarrhea, vomiting. Dehydration develops. If no action is taken at this stage, given state goes into a coma.

For babies of 1 year of age with diabetes, breastfeeding is very important. because mother's milk is best absorbed by the baby's body. If it is not possible to maintain natural feeding, the child is transferred to special mixtures without glucose.

It should be remembered that such children are completely helpless. So parents must constantly monitor their blood glucose levels, administer drugs on time.

Separately mention should be made of the preparation of a woman with diabetes who is planning a pregnancy b.

The expectant mother must go through the row additional surveys in consultation with your gynecologist. Throughout pregnancy, she must follow the diet and, most importantly, comply with all treatment adjustments. There are also a number of contraindications to pregnancy for such women, which should be considered.

Prevention of disease in infants is to protect them from infections, the preservation of breastfeeding. It is very important not to overfeed the baby, as excess body weight increases the possibility of developing a "sweet" disease.

Diagnosis of diabetes in childhood

First of all, a blood test on an empty stomach will help to recognize the disease.. If its indicators exceed 6.7 mmol / l, this indicates the development of the disease.

Further, to confirm the diagnosis, a glucose tolerance test is performed in several steps. To begin with, blood sugar is measured on an empty stomach in the morning. After the child drinks a glucose solution. In case of a negative result, the glucose during the test should not exceed 11.1 mmol / l. After 2 hours after it should be below 7.8 mmol / l.

Three main symptoms should be the signal for parents to seek help: thirst, an increase in the volume of urine excreted by the child, and increased appetite.

Complications and prevention

The disease has acute and late complications.

To acute complications reckon to whom, which causes severe pathological processes in the body and can lead to death. There are 2 types of coma: hypo- and hyperglycemic.

Hypoglycemic coma occurs when blood sugar drops rapidly. The child is covered with sweat, often and superficially breathes. He has increased appetite, there is pain in the abdomen. Consciousness quickly fades, convulsions are possible. In such a case, children should always carry something sweet with them to quickly raise their glucose levels;

At hyperglycemic coma blood sugar rises rapidly. The child's breathing becomes deep and slow. There is nausea, vomiting, muscle tone is reduced.

Chronic complications include:

  1. Conditions caused by circulatory disorders. In diabetes, the vessels primarily suffer - they become brittle, inelastic, their lumen narrows. Against this background, in children with diabetes, the possibility of developing cardiovascular diseases, nephropathies, as well as leg diseases with a violation of their sensitivity increases. The blood supply to the retina of the eye worsens, due to which its detachment occurs, vision deteriorates.
  2. Violation of the nervous system - there is a tingling sensation and a feeling of numbness in the limbs.
  3. Bones become brittle, which increases the likelihood of fractures, curvature of the spine.
  4. Children may be developmentally delayed.
  5. Skin diseases. Characterized by the development of keratosis - thickening of the skin. Boils, abscesses often appear, and neuroderma also develops.

To prevent the development of a "sweet" disease in a child, one should monitor what he eats, avoid overeating, hobbies for flour and sweets.

Eat 4-5 times a day in small portions. Food should be complete and fortified. Need to drink enough water. Expand your child's diet with vegetables and fruits, cereals.

Highly it is important to maintain a mobile lifestyle. Physical activity prevents the development of obesity, as well as stagnation of glucose in the blood. It's not about hard, exhausting workouts. Just change the daily routine a little: do exercises in the morning, if possible, replace driving in transport with walking.

It is important to keep your child's nervous system in harmony. After all, as you know, all diseases are from nerves.

For children at risk for developing diabetes, it is necessary to regularly see a doctor.

Treatment

Treatment of the disease in children initially falls on the shoulders of the parents. They must control the child's nutrition, the timely administration of insulin, the daily routine. Subsequently, when the child grows up and "makes friends" with diabetes, you need to teach him to self-control.

Therapy of the disease should begin with the selection of doses of insulin. Unfortunately, injections of this drug cannot be dispensed with.

There are several types and combinations. This issue should be approached individually. Insulin injections are carried out using a pen or insulin syringe. Be sure to purchase a glucometer. This is a device that allows you to painlessly and quickly determine blood sugar. Usually, the following scheme is used: first, blood sugar is determined, then insulin is administered. After that, the child should eat.

A prerequisite for maintaining normal sugar in the blood is the diet. Nutrition should be balanced, contain enough vitamins. Main condition - limit your intake of light carbohydrates. Bakery products, sweets, rice, semolina are contraindicated for a child. It is worth limiting sweet fruits: banana, persimmon, grapes.

In the diet of children should be a lot of unsweetened fruits: citrus fruits, apples. Showing vegetables. Allowed to eat low-fat varieties fish and meat, cottage cheese, eggs, buckwheat, wheat porridge. You should also limit fat.

It helps a lot in calculating insulin doses and portions of nutrition. bread unit. This is a constant and it always equals 14 grams of carbohydrates, raises sugar to 3 mmol / l and requires the introduction of 2 units of insulin. It is important to keep special diaries where all the data is recorded: blood sugar levels, what the child ate, how much insulin was administered.

Children who go to school require special preparation. They spend there most days, so they must learn to control their condition themselves. Be sure to give such children to school something sweet with them: a piece of sugar or candy in case of hypoglycemia. Sweets must be put not only in the briefcase, but also in the pockets of clothes, so that they are always at hand.

Do not hide your child's illness from others, because often people who are not affected by the problem do not understand what in question. Explain to the teacher simply and clearly what the essence of the disease is. The educator should know that your child needs hourly insulin and meals. And he shouldn't resist it. It should also be explained how to behave in the event of a deterioration in the condition of such children, so that he is not at a loss and can provide first aid.

Unfortunately, Currently, there is no drug that would completely get rid of diabetes.. Having developed once, he will accompany the baby all his life. But don't be afraid.

Proper treatment and nutrition will help your child live a long, fulfilling life.

Diabetes in children is dangerous chronic illness, which affects all body systems and can lead to serious consequences. Most often this endocrine pathology It is diagnosed in boys and girls from 1 year to 11 years of age, but the risk of developing diabetes is especially high in children of primary school age.

Children aged 7-8 years have diabetes much less often than adults, but at this age this disease has a more rapid development and often proceeds in a severe form. of great importance for successful treatment diabetes in children has a timely diagnosis, which in most cases depends on the attentive attitude of parents to their child.

But often, even when noticing signs of deterioration in health in their daughter or son, parents cannot correctly determine its causes, because they do not know the exact symptoms of diabetes in children of 8 years old. Meanwhile, this information can save a child from severe complications of diabetes, and sometimes save his life.

Causes

At junior schoolchildren The vast majority of cases develop type 1 diabetes. The main cause of this disease is a violation of the secretion of the hormone insulin, which may be produced in insufficient quantities or not produced at all.

As a consequence acute shortage insulin, the child's body cannot absorb glucose, so its high concentration remains in the blood and causes diseases of the heart, blood vessels, kidneys, organs of vision, skin and many others internal organs and systems.

It is believed that the main cause of the development of diabetes in children aged 8 years is genetic predisposition. So in children whose mother suffers from diabetes, the risk of getting this disease increases by 7%, if the father is sick - by 9%, and if both parents - by 30%.

However, heredity is far from the only cause of diabetes in childhood. There are other factors that can provoke the development of this disease in preschoolers and younger students. A child at 8 years old has such a severe disruption of work endocrine system, as a rule, develops due to the following reasons:

  1. Transferred viral diseases;
  2. Weakening immune system;
  3. autoimmune diseases;
  4. Birth weight over 4500 g;
  5. Large excess weight for this age category;
  6. Excessive psychological or physical exercise;
  7. Improper nutrition with a predominance of high-carbohydrate foods, which led to a metabolic disorder.

Symptoms

Sugar level

Recognizing diabetes in the early stages in an 8-year-old child is quite difficult task for the non-specialist. At this stage of the disease, the patient has practically no signs characteristic of advanced level blood sugar, which is manifested only by general malaise and deterioration emotional state child.

However, most parents attribute this to fatigue from schoolwork or ordinary whims. It is important that the child himself is not able to understand what is happening to him and therefore is in no hurry to complain about his well-being to his mothers and fathers.

But just on early stage it is easiest to achieve high-quality compensation for diabetes and thereby prevent the development of complications that develop especially rapidly in childhood.

Early signs of diabetes in children 8 years old:

  • increased sweating;
  • Attacks of trembling in the limbs, especially in the hands;
  • Frequent mood swings, increased irritability, tearfulness;
  • Feeling uneasy unfounded fears, phobias.

With the development of diabetes, its symptoms become more noticeable to parents. However, it is important to understand that in children, the signs of high blood sugar can be quite blurred and not very intense. Obvious symptoms of diabetes indicate that the disease has passed into a severe stage and the child's condition is close to diabetic coma.

Symptoms of diabetes in younger schoolchildren in the later stages:

  1. Strong thirst. A sick child can drink from 2 liters of liquid or more per day;
  2. Frequent and profuse urination. The child constantly runs to the toilet, gets up several times a night, often takes time off from lessons. Some children may even experience bedwetting;
  3. Constant hunger. The child noticeably increases appetite, which is expressed in constant desire something to eat. During meals, the child may eat unusually large portions;
  4. Sharp weight loss. Despite the increased appetite, the child gradually loses body weight;
  5. Increased cravings for sweets. A child with diabetes exhibits an increased craving for sweets that seems excessive even for his age;
  6. Severe itching on skin, especially the thighs and groin;
  7. Long healing of even small skin lesions, increased tendency to inflammation and suppuration of wounds and scratches;
  8. Decreased visual acuity;
  9. Appearances on the skin of pustules;
  10. Girls may develop thrush (candidiasis);
  11. Inflammation and increased bleeding of the gums;
  12. Enlargement of the liver, which can be seen on palpation.

At the slightest suspicion of diabetes in a child, the parent should immediately take him to an endocrinologist and undergo all the necessary tests. The main thing is not to miss the moment when the disease has not yet had time to cause serious harm to the health of the child, and treatment can lead to a significant improvement in his condition.

If the above manifestations of diabetes go unnoticed by parents, then with the course of the disease, the child's risk of developing a hyperglycemic attack increases significantly. This complication of diabetes poses a great danger to the child and may even threaten his life.

Severe hyperglycemia requires immediate hospitalization of the patient and is often treated only in intensive care. The following symptoms indicate the development of a hyperglycemic attack in a child:

  • Convulsions, especially of the upper and lower extremities;
  • drop in blood pressure;
  • Heart palpitations;
  • Violent thirst;
  • Severe dryness of the skin and mucous membranes;
  • Nausea and vomiting;
  • Diarrhea;
  • Very profuse urination;
  • Pain in the abdomen;
  • Loss of consciousness.

When a child is diagnosed with diabetes late stage extremely high risk of complications. It is important to emphasize that the changes that occur in a child's body under the influence of high blood sugar levels are often irreversible.

Therefore, it is important not to severe consequences diabetes, including the addition of concomitant diseases.

Treatment

Diabetes mellitus is still an incurable disease and therefore requires lifelong treatment. The basis of the fight against diabetes in childhood is insulin therapy. It helps to normalize blood sugar levels and improve the absorption of glucose in the child's body.

For the treatment of diabetes mellitus in children, short-acting insulin preparations or are used. They are introduced into the child's body twice a day for a quarter of an hour before meals. The dosage of insulin in the treatment of childhood diabetes ranges from 20 to 40 units and is prescribed by an endocrinologist for each patient individually.

As the child grows older, the initial dose of insulin should be gradually increased, but only the attending physician should do this. Changing the dosage on your own can lead to dangerous consequences, the most severe of which is hypoglycemic coma.

Another important component of the treatment of diabetes in children of primary school age is strict adherence to diet. Parents should ensure that the child eats no more than 380-400 g of carbohydrates per day. For this, all high-carbohydrate foods should be completely excluded from the patient's diet.

With diabetes, a child is categorically contraindicated in bread and other pastries made from white flour, potatoes, rice, semolina, pasta and, of course, all kinds of sweets. In addition, sugary drinks, including fruit juice, should be avoided.

With diabetes, all kinds of fresh vegetables are very useful for a child, as well as berries and unsweetened fruits, especially citrus fruits and sweet and sour varieties of apples. Bananas, grapes, peaches and apricots should be avoided.

Also, buckwheat and oatmeal porridge, as well as porridge from corn grits coarse grind. It is strictly forbidden to feed a child with spicy, spicy, fatty and high-calorie dishes, especially seasoned with heavy sauces. The nutrition of a small patient should be completely dietary.

With diabetes, it is very important not to let the child starve, so the patient should eat often, but in small portions. Six meals a day are considered ideal for children with diabetes, including breakfast, lunch, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner and a small snack before bedtime.

To maintain blood sugar levels within the normal range, it is very useful for a child to engage in various sports. During exercise the child's body actively absorbs glucose, which helps to lower its concentration in the blood.

However, sports activities should not be excessively heavy so as not to exhaust a sick child. Physical activity should give pleasure to a small patient, contribute to the overall strengthening of the body and enhance the functioning of the immune system.

Of great importance for ensuring a full life for a sick child is timely psychological help. Many children with diabetes have difficulty adapting to sudden changes in their lives and may feel extremely insecure, especially when interacting with healthy peers.

The need to give up many familiar products and the need for food often become the cause of severe complexes that prevent the child from communicating normally with other children and making new friends.

The most common type of diabetes in children, also called juvenile diabetes. It is a severe autoimmune disease and is characterized by an absolute deficiency of the hormone insulin. It can be congenital and acquired, develops at any age, in the vast majority of cases, in addition to the classical diet and therapeutic procedures, it requires constant injections of insulin.

AT recent decades, upper bound The age of diagnosis is rapidly blurring - if earlier this disease was found in children under 7–8 years old, now isolated cases of primary type 1 diabetes mellitus have been recorded in 30 and even 40 year old people.

Children usually do not mean autoimmune, but metabolic disease of the chronic spectrum. It is characterized by a relative deficiency of insulin - in fact, the concentration of the hormone is normal or even increased, but its interaction with tissue cells is impaired. Otherwise given pathological process imbalance carbohydrate metabolism called insulin resistance.

Back in the 20th century, doctors believed that type 2 diabetes only occurs in elderly or middle-aged people, since it is directly related to the process of slowing down metabolism and obesity. However, as modern medical practice shows, the lower age limit is lowering every decade, and now type 2 diabetes is diagnosed even in 8–10-year-old children, who are predominantly overweight and have an unbalanced diet.

In the classical sense, type 2 diabetes is insulin-independent and does not require injections of this hormone, but over time and in the absence of proper qualified treatment, type 2 diabetes mellitus passes into the first (beta cells, depleted by continuous exercise, stop producing insulin in sufficient quantities) .

Any event, including diseases, has causal relationships - this is an axiom. However, the situation is more complicated with diabetes. Despite the fact that doctors have long been familiar with this endocrine disease, exact reasons, triggering the negative process of carbohydrate metabolism disorders have not been elucidated so far.

Type 1 diabetes, as an autoimmune form of true diabetes mellitus, is expressed in the destruction of beta cells. The mechanism of such destruction has been studied by scientists - protein cellular structures, which are transport mechanism in nervous system, due to an unknown etymology, penetrate the blood-brain barrier and enter the main bloodstream. The immune system, previously unfamiliar with such elements (the above barrier in the normal state does not allow elements of the brain system to pass into the rest of the body), begins to attack proteins by secreting antibodies to them. In turn, beta cells, from which insulin is produced, have markers similar to the above-described brain cell structures and are also destroyed by the immune system, partially or completely depriving the pancreas of the ability to produce the much-needed hormone.

According to modern statistics, the risk factor for launching this process, heredity and the transfer of the corresponding recessive / dominant genes from a sick parent to a child are favored, with an increase in the likelihood of developing diabetes in the latter by an average of 10 percent. In addition, an additional “trigger” for the formation of a problem can be frequent stress, viruses (in particular, rubella and Coxsackie type), as well as external factors- taking a number of medications and chemical substances(streptozocin, rat poison, etc.), living in a certain population segment (DM is represented unevenly in different countries and its prevalence between neighboring countries geographic point vision by territories can differ by 5–10 times).

Type 2 diabetes, in turn, is a problem of metabolism, where the “violator” of carbohydrate metabolism is not insulin deficiency (the latter is produced normally or even in excess of it), but its poor absorption by tissues. Diabetes mellitus in this case progresses slowly, also due to both genetic and lifetime factors, the main of which is overweight and age-related aging of the whole organism. Even 30 years ago, it was believed that there was no non-insulin-dependent type of diabetes in children (accordingly, during the diagnosis process, juvenile type 1 diabetes was immediately established), however, in recent decades, doctors have increasingly diagnosed it in obese adolescents and children with overweight bodies aged 8 to 12 years.

One of the important problems of timely detection in a child before the onset of various complications is the lack of clear and unique symptoms/signs of this disease at such an early age. Type 1 diabetes is usually discovered incidentally on the basis of tests or with an acute manifestation of hyper / hypoglycemia already in the hospital.

In infants

From zero to a year of life, visually determine diabetes of any type by external manifestations very difficult until the onset of acute symptoms (severe dehydration, intoxication and vomiting). According to indirect signs - the lack of weight gain and the progress of dystrophy (in the case of a full-fledged normal diet), frequent crying for no reason, which subsides only after drinking a liquid. Also, the child is worried about severe diaper rash in the places of the primary genital organs, which are difficult to treat, while his urine can leave sticky marks, and the diaper after the process of urination becomes hard, as if starched.

Kindergarteners, preschoolers, schoolchildren

  1. Periodic dehydration of the body, frequent daytime urination and vomiting, nocturnal urinary incontinence.
  2. severe seizures thirst, weight loss.
  3. Systematic skin infectious lesions in boys and candidiasis in girls.
  4. Decreased attention, bouts of apathy and irritability.

Acute symptoms of DM in this group of children include, in addition to the above signs, also respiratory failure (rare, uniform with noisy breaths), the smell of acetone from oral cavity, high heart rate, swelling of the extremities and their poor blood conduction with blue, as well as disorders of consciousness - from disorientation to diabetic coma. In case of detection acute symptoms SD must immediately go to the hospital!

Teenagers

In addition to the above symptoms in adolescents, the problem with diabetes is complicated by the “smearing” of signs characteristic of adolescence (often confused with sluggish infections and even neurosis), but if your child gets tired quickly, he has constant headaches and periodic acute attacks the desire to eat sweets (the body's reaction to hypoglycemia), poorly passing abdominal pain with nausea, disorders peripheral vision- it is an occasion to be checked up at the endocrinologist.

Signs of Type 2 Diabetes in Puberty Children

Active hormonal change organism during puberty (girls 10–16 and boys 12–18 years) can provoke the development of tissue insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes, especially if the child is obese.

Your child is overweight abdominal type, arterial hypertension, difficulty or too frequent urination, periodic chronic infections various etiologies, high performance cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood, as well as liver problems (fatty hepatosis) plus the main, albeit vague, symptoms of type 1 diabetes? It is possible that this is all caused by type 2 diabetes.

Diagnostics

The first stage in the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus in children is the analysis of external symptomatic manifestations, the collection of a life history, as well as the delivery of tests:

  1. - given in the morning on an empty stomach, as well as with a load at a dose of 75 grams of glucose. When indicators exceed 5.5 mmol / l (on an empty stomach) and 7 mmol / l (load 1–2 hours after glucose administration), diabetes mellitus is suspected.
  2. Blood for glycated hemoglobin. Glucose-binding hemoglobin is one of the most accurate indicators of the presence or absence of DM. With results over 6.5 percent, the overall diagnosis of diabetes mellitus is considered confirmed.

Second phase diagnostic measures- Determining the type of diabetes mellitus. For this, a detailed differential diagnosis and a number of tests are given, in particular for c-peptide and autoantibodies to insulin / beta cells. If the latter two are present, the doctor can make a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes, otherwise type 2 diabetes is finally confirmed.

It should be noted immediately - effective treatment Diabetes of any type at the present stage of development of science, medicine does not know. Diabetes mellitus is a lifelong problem that cannot be cured, but can only be controlled, preventing the failure of carbohydrate metabolism and related complications.

The list of basic measures for the treatment of diabetes in children usually includes special diet with constant control of the volume, caloric content and energy content of food, monitoring of the current level of sugar in the blood, physiotherapy, as well as regular physical activity in strictly metered moderate “portions”. Type 1 diabetics will need to regularly inject matched and often adjusted doses of short, medium, or long-acting, and for children suffering from type 2 diabetes, instead of a hormone, take a variety of drugs:

  1. Insulin secretion catalysts (2nd generation sulfonylurea, repaglinide).
  2. Modulators of tissue sensitivity to insulin (biguanides, thiazolindiones).
  3. Glucose absorption inhibitors in the gastrointestinal tract (acarbose).
  4. Alpha receptor activators and lipid metabolism stimulants (fenofibrates).
  5. Other medicines.

In addition to the main therapy, in case of acute or running forms diabetes mellitus with the development of complications is required additional treatment from related problems - in this case, the doctor or the relevant commission assesses the risks for the patient and prescribes treatment, taking into account the presence of an underlying endocrine disease.

Promising Methods

Science does not stand still, and over the past decades, hundreds of independent groups have been trying to develop a technique for truly effective fight with diabetes. Doctors are confident that in the medium term it is possible not only to create, but also to put into practice the concept of completely ridding a child of DM. The most promising and reliable today are considered to be:

  1. Transplantation of a part of the pancreas / islets of Langerhanz / beta cells / stem cells. The technique consists in the combined introduction of donor material to resume the production of natural insulin by the body. Such operations are already being carried out now (as a rule, in case of serious complications, when the risks of transplantation of bio-material in the form of beta and stem cells are justified), however, after some time, the function of beta cells is still gradually lost. At the moment, experiments are underway to prolong and consolidate the effect, as well as to increase the level of patient survival/graft survival after surgery.
  2. Cloning of beta cells. A promising technique is aimed at stimulating the production of an insulin base from beta-cell precursors by injecting a specific protein or introducing the required gene. The level of their production will be higher than the rate of destruction of the hormone base by the immune system, as a result of which more natural insulin will be produced.
  3. Vaccines. There is an active development and testing of vaccines that isolate antibodies for beta cells, as a result of which the latter cease to be destroyed.

Diet for children with diabetes

Diet is the basis of therapy for any type of diabetes mellitus. For children with type 1 diabetes, it is necessary for an accurate calculation of the amount of insulin administered, while for a child with type 2 diabetes, in the absence of serious complications, it can completely replace classical treatment. The following diets are suitable for the treatment of mild to moderate diabetes. In acute conditions, the presence of complications, etc., the most individualized nutrition scheme is required, developed by the endocrinologist, taking into account current state body and other factors.

For type 1 SD

For children with true diabetes and normal / underweight, specialist doctors recommend a balanced rational nutrition system - for example, the classic "Table No. 9". It is quite comfortable for the child and although slightly improves daily level blood sugar (which can be compensated by insulin injections), but provides the growing body of the child full set the right substances / trace elements / vitamins.

Its main principles are five meals a day every two to three hours in small portions, as well as the exclusion of simple carbohydrates from the diet and replacing them with complex ones that break down more slowly and do not give jump blood glucose. The calorie content of this diet is 2300–2400 kcal, the daily chemical composition includes proteins (90 g), fats (80 g), carbohydrates (350 g), salt (12 g) and one and a half liters of free liquid.

It is forbidden to use baking, fatty and strong broths and milk with semolina / rice. It is not recommended to add fatty meats/fish, smoked meats, canned food, caviar, salty/sweet cheeses, marinades and pickles, pasta, rice, cream, sauces, meat/cooking fats to the menu. It is also not allowed to drink sweet juices, certain types fruits (grapes, dates, raisins, bananas, figs), ice cream, jam, cakes/sweets. Under the ban any strongly fatty and fried food- it must be boiled, stewed, baked or steamed. Honey - limited, sugar is replaced by sorbitol / xylitol.

For SD type 2

In type 2 diabetes, the child is almost always obese - it is this that often provokes reduced tissue sensitivity to insulin. In this case, the above "Table No. 9" is not the optimal solution, and it is impossible to compensate for even a small daily increase in blood sugar with insulin (it is produced in sufficient quantities and even in excess of the norm, the problems are precisely in insulin resistance), therefore, modern nutritionists and endocrinologists are all often recommend a low-carbohydrate diet.

It is more strict, however, helps to deal with high sugar in the blood and along the way will significantly reduce excess weight, thus reducing the manifestations of resistance. Its principles are fractional six meals a day, a significant reduction in the consumption of any carbohydrates (up to 30-50 grams / day) and an emphasis on protein food(up to 50 percent of the daily volume of food consumed). Calorie threshold - 2 thousand kcal.

With a low-carbohydrate diet, you should increase the intake of free fluid (about 2-2.5 liters / day), it is advisable to take additional vitamin-mineral complexes. The basis of nutrition is green vegetables and proteins. Under an additional ban, compared to "table number 9", potatoes, almost all fruits / cereals, main types of bread, corn, semi-finished products, compotes.

Useful video

Diabetes mellitus in a child - Dr. Komarovsky's School

Diabetes mellitus in children: causes, diagnosis and treatment

In the past, diabetes mellitus in a child was considered deadly disease, modern medicine allows small diabetics to live a full life. For timely diagnosis you need to know the main signs of diabetes in children.

Causes

Diabetes mellitus can occur in a child at any age, sometimes the disease is congenital. Pathology is diagnosed in 0.1–0.3% of children. The main cause of the disease is the state of the pancreas; in children, insulin synthesis is improving by the age of 5.

Important! Diabetes most often develops between the ages of 6 and 12 years.

The main reasons for the development of diabetes in a child:

  • diabetes mellitus in children 1 year old is hereditary, especially if the disease is diagnosed in the mother or other close relatives;
  • babies whose birth weight exceeds 4.5 kg are at risk;
  • severe viral diseases - with mumps, rubella, chickenpox, the pancreas may suffer;
  • obesity - the love of children for sweets and being overweight can become predisposing factors for the onset of type 2 diabetes;
  • sedentary lifestyle - modern children spend a lot of time near the computer, rarely walk in the fresh air, which also leads to obesity;
  • malfunctions of the immune system - the production of antibodies to the body's own cells, including pancreatic cells, may begin.

Diabetes mellitus in adolescents can occur due to hormonal imbalances. At this age, the active growth of internal organs begins, which can cause various malfunctions in the body.

How does diabetes manifest itself in children?

If parents are attentive to the health of the child, they will be able to notice the first signs of diabetes in a timely manner. The disease in children develops very quickly, delay can lead to the development of irreversible pathologies, diabetic coma. In diabetes, there is a failure in the processes of carbohydrate metabolism in the body.

Symptoms of childhood diabetes:

  • the child is constantly thirsty, drinks greedily and a lot, but at the same time cannot get drunk;
  • complains of dry mouth;
  • urinary incontinence at night, more than 2 liters of light urine is excreted per day;
  • in children under one year old, on the background of diabetes, nausea and vomiting often occur;
  • vision begins to deteriorate;
  • itching, pustules on the skin, the skin becomes very dry;
  • sudden weight loss with increased appetite;
  • drowsiness, apathy, a sharp change in mood.

Important! Even with the appearance of one alarming symptom, it is necessary to contact a pediatrician and undergo an examination.

The types of diabetes in children are the same as in adults. Diabetes can be type 1 (insulin-dependent form) and type 2 (non-insulin-dependent form). Children are more likely to develop a disease of the first type, which is characterized by a decrease in insulin synthesis. In children with type 2 diabetes, it is sometimes possible to normalize the condition without drug therapy.

Diagnosis and treatment

The first question that arises in the parents of a small diabetic is whether this disease is treated or not. In modern medicine, there are no remedies that will help to completely rid a child of diabetes. Therapy is aimed at normalizing metabolic processes, parents should constantly monitor blood sugar levels.

To confirm the diagnosis, it is necessary to do a urine test for glucose - normally, urine should not contain sugar. To determine the level of sugar in the blood, it is necessary to do an analysis on an empty stomach. Normal indicators in a child under 2 years old are 2.8 - 4.5 mmol / l, at the age of 2-6 years - 3.3 - 5 mmol / l, in schoolchildren - no more than 5.5 units. Additionally, an ultrasound scan of the pancreas is performed to detect changes in the structure.

Modern methods of treatment:

  1. Type 1 diabetes mellitus in children is treated with insulin preparations - Protofan, Actrapid. Insulin should be administered 30 minutes before a meal. It is necessary to take a course of angioprotectors, take vitamin complexes, take drugs to improve liver function, choleretic drugs.
  2. Pancreas transplant - radical method therapy, which is used in extreme cases. The operation is complex, expensive, the probability of organ rejection is high, and side effects from taking immunosuppressive drugs.
  3. Treatment without insulin is possible only in type 2 diabetes. Therapy will include diet therapy, preventive measures, physiotherapy exercises and taking antidiabetic drugs.

Important! Diabetics should eat 6 times a day, fasting is prohibited, total carbohydrate should be no more than 400 g. It is necessary to monitor compliance with the drinking regime - the child should drink about 1.5 liters clean water without gas.

Treatment with folk remedies

Non-traditional methods of treatment are especially effective for type 2 diabetes, folk remedies should be reasonably combined with drug treatment, diet, and physical activity. Any herbal therapy should be agreed with the attending physician.

Useful for small diabetics fresh beetroot juice- it should be taken 50 ml 4 times a day. After squeezing, the drink should be allowed to stand for 20 minutes. Additionally, you should eat 5 g of mustard seeds three times a day.

Collection for the treatment of diabetes:

  • blueberry leaves - 30 g;
  • bean sashes - 30 g;
  • flaxseed - 30 g;
  • chopped green oat straw - 30 g.

Brew 15 g of a mixture of 500 ml of boiling water, leave overnight. Take 100 ml three times a day half an hour before meals.

An infusion of lilac buds helps to normalize sugar levels. Raw materials should be collected in the spring during swelling, and then dry well. The medicine is prepared from 5 g of kidneys and 300 ml of boiling water. You need to drink 15 ml of the drink three times a day.

Possible Complications

Without proper and timely treatment, a child with diabetes begins to lag behind in growth and development, the disease is often accompanied by mental and behavioral disorders.

Consequences of diabetes:

  • an increase in the liver against the background of excess glycogen and fat in the body;
  • kidney failure;
  • diabetic vascular changes;
  • ischemia;
  • ulcers diabetic foot, gangrene;
  • severe visual impairment up to complete blindness.

Newborns with diabetes often fall into a coma, they have impaired cerebral circulation.

Prevention

Breast milk helps develop strong immunity Therefore, you should breastfeed your baby for at least 12 months.

Important! In children who have not been fed mother's milk, diabetes mellitus develops more often.

It is necessary to ensure that the child eats regularly and correctly, the diet should include minimal amount foods with fast carbohydrates. But you can’t completely deprive children of sweets - sugar is good for the brain. Fresh vegetables and fruits should be on the menu every day. In diabetes, it is forbidden to use semolina, rice, potatoes in any form, pasta. Daily dose bread no more than 100 g.

Helpful for diabetes following products- peas, beans, all types of cabbage, leafy vegetables, buckwheat porridge, zucchini and eggplant.

With irregular nutrition, blood sugar can drop below critical levels. The child begins to tremble, complains about headache, the pulse becomes rapid. The face becomes pale, sweating increases, sometimes loss of consciousness is possible.

With hypoglycemia, you should not panic, you need to give your child sweet tea, give a piece of sugar or candy. Parents of small diabetics should always have sweets in stock. If the child is unconscious, an ambulance should be called immediately.

Physical activity promotes better absorption of glucose, strengthens protective functions organism. Training should be regular, but not intense.

If there are diabetics in the family, the child suffers from obesity or improper metabolism, it is necessary to register with an endocrinologist and undergo regular examinations.

Diabetes mellitus in children is rarely diagnosed, most often the disease is hereditary, develops against the background of obesity, weakened immunity. Proper nutrition, regular moderate physical activity, walks in the fresh air, hardening - all this helps to protect the child from the occurrence of a serious illness.

If parents with early age teach the child to healthy lifestyle life, in the future, diabetes will not prevent him from achieving heights. The main thing is to accept the diagnosis and not give up.

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Diabetes mellitus in children: how the disease develops, recommendations for prevention and treatment

Diabetes mellitus in children is not only physical problem how much psychological. Sick children are more difficult to adapt to the team, they, unlike adults, it is more difficult to change their usual way of life.

A disease such as diabetes mellitus is included in the group of endocrine disorders with signs of a deficiency of the thyroid hormone - insulin. Pathology is accompanied by a constant increase in the amount of glucose in the blood.

The mechanism of the disease is characterized by a chronic form, provokes the appearance of alarming symptoms characteristic of the disease and is accompanied by a failure of all types of metabolism - protein, mineral, fat, water, salt, carbohydrate.

Diabetes mellitus in children has no age restrictions and can manifest itself at the most unexpected moment. The presence of endocrine system disorders are present in infants, preschoolers and adolescents.

Childhood diabetes is the second most common chronic disease.

Just like in adult diabetics, this form of the disease in children is exacerbated by additional symptoms. With the timely detection of pathology and hasty adoption necessary measures to prevent the consequences of diabetes can be achieved positive results and greatly alleviate the suffering of the child.

A disorder in carbohydrate metabolism is main reason diabetes in children at any age. Scientists were able to track other factors that affect the development of the disease in children. Some of them have been studied in detail, and some of the reasons are still under the heading of obscurity.

The essence of diabetes does not change from this and comes down to the main conclusion - problems with insulin will forever change the life of a sick child.

The first symptoms of diabetes in children: how to recognize them

Understanding that a child has diabetes is always difficult at the initial stage. The symptoms are almost invisible. The rate of manifestation of the disease depends on its type - the first or second.

In type 1 diabetes, the symptoms progress rapidly and the baby changes within the first week. Type II diabetes is characterized by severity, the symptoms do not appear as quickly and not so clearly. Parents do not notice them, do not take the child to the doctor until complications occur. In order not to aggravate the situation, it would not be superfluous to find out how diabetes mellitus manifests itself in children.

Consider the most common symptoms of childhood diabetes:

In order for the child's body to receive an energy reserve for proper organization life, insulin must convert some of the glucose that enters the blood. If diabetes has already begun to develop, the need for sweets may increase. This is due to the hunger of the cells of the body, because in diabetes there is a violation of carbohydrate metabolism and not all glucose is transformed into energy.

For this reason, the child always reaches for sweets. The task of an adult is to distinguish the pathological process from the love of sweets.

A child with diabetes often feels hungry. Even if children eat enough food, it is difficult for them to wait for the next meal.

This can cause headaches and even trembling of the legs and arms. Children ask for food all the time and choose high-carbohydrate foods - flour and fried foods.

Decreased motor ability.

A diabetic child experiences an all-consuming feeling of fatigue, he lacks energy. He gets irritated for any reason, cries, does not want to play even his favorite games.

If you find a frequent recurrence of one or more of the symptoms, contact your doctor and get your blood glucose tested.

Children are not always able to objectively assess their needs and weaknesses, so parents should be on the alert.

Signs of diabetes in a child: what precedes the disease

In addition to the symptoms of the first stage, the disease is further accompanied by more obvious signs.

One of the most striking manifestations of diabetes. Adults need to control the child's fluid intake. In children with diabetes, there is a constant feeling of thirst. A sick baby can drink more than 3 liters of water per day, but his mucous membranes will remain dry, and the feeling of thirst will not dull.

2. Polyuria, or frequent and increased urination.

Because of constant thirst and a large amount of fluid drunk, children suffering from diabetes go to small needs more often than their healthy peers.

A large number of urine output is related to the amount of fluid consumed. In one day, the child can go to the toilet about 15-20 times, at night the child may also wake up because of the desire to urinate. Parents confuse these signs with a problem associated with frequent urination - enuresis. Therefore, for diagnosis, the signs should be considered in the aggregate.

Even in spite of increased appetite and consumption of sweets, children with diabetes may experience weight loss. Although initially the weight, on the contrary, may increase slightly. This is due to the physiology during a lack of insulin. Cells do not have enough sugar to form energy, so they look for it in fats, breaking them down. So the weight is reduced.

You can also understand that a child has diabetes on this basis. Even minor abrasions and scratches heal very slowly. This is due to dysfunction vascular system due to a persistent increase in blood glucose levels. In this critical situation an appeal to an endocrinologist is inevitable.

5. Dermopathy, or skin lesions.

Due to diabetes, children often suffer from skin diseases. On the various parts the body may experience rashes, sores, and spots. This is due to a decrease in immunity, disturbances in metabolic processes and blood vessels.

No energy - the child has no strength for games and movement. He becomes weak and anxious. Diabetic children lag behind their friends in school and are not as active in physical education classes.

After coming home from educational institution the child wants to sleep, looks tired, does not want to communicate with anyone.

Another characteristic sign of the onset of diabetes. The air next to the child smells of vinegar or sour apples. This is clear evidence that the number of ketone bodies in the body has increased. It is worth immediately going to the doctor, otherwise the child may fall into a ketoacidotic coma.

Knowledge is your strength. If you are familiar with the symptoms of diabetes in children, you can avoid the severe consequences of the pathology and alleviate children's pain.

The clinic of the disease is different in children of different age categories. We offer you to get acquainted with the differences in the development of diabetes in accordance with age-related changes.

Signs of diabetes in the baby

In children who have recently been born, it is not easy to detect the disease. It is very difficult to understand whether the baby is experiencing polyuria (increased urination) or polydipsia (thirst) from his usual well-being. Pathology can be accompanied by other signs: vomiting, intoxication, dehydration, and even coma.

If diabetes develops slowly, the baby weakly gains weight, sleeps poorly and does not want to eat, often cries, suffers from stool disorders. Long time Babies may suffer from diaper rash. Skin problems begin: prickly heat, allergies, pustules. Another point that should attract attention is the stickiness of urine. After drying, the diapers become hardened, and when it hits the surface, the stain sticks.

Causes of diabetes in young children

The development of diabetes occurs at an accelerated pace in children older than 1 year. The onset of a precomatose state will be preceded by the following signs:


Type I diabetes mellitus in children of this age is associated with genetic disposition and heredity.

Cases of type II diabetes in preschool children are observed more often than type 1 diabetes. This happens due to uncontrolled use. harmful products, fast food, speed dial body weight, immobility.

How does diabetes manifest itself in schoolchildren

The detection of diabetes in school-age children will be preceded by signs:


All these physical factors are combined with psychological, so-called atypical manifestations of diabetes:

  • Anxiety and depression;
  • Fatigue and weakness;
  • drop in academic performance;
  • Unwillingness to interact with peers.

If you notice at least one of these signs, do not leave the situation unattended.

At first, parents attribute diabetic symptoms to study fatigue. Moms and dads, love your children, do not ignore their problems and worries.

The first signs of diabetes in adolescents

Adolescent diabetes is a phenomenon that occurs after the age of 15. Symptoms of diabetes mellitus in adolescents are typical and worsen if left untreated.

The most common symptoms of diabetes in adolescents are:


The clinical picture of juvenile diabetes is as follows: high level blood glucose provokes thirst, which does not decrease even after drinking a large amount of liquid; and frequent visits to the toilet for small needs - and in daytime day, and at night.

Diabetes mellitus in girls adolescence manifests itself in violations menstrual cycle. This serious violation is fraught with infertility. With the development of type II diabetes in a girl, polycystic ovaries may begin.

Diabetes mellitus of both types in adolescents resolves with symptoms vascular disorders, pressure may increase, there is an increase in cholesterol in the blood. Blood microcirculation is disturbed in the legs, the teenager experiences a feeling of numbness, suffers from convulsions.

With late diagnosis of diabetes mellitus in adolescents, the clinic of the disease is associated with the accumulation of ketone bodies in the blood. This happens due to a significant excess of blood glucose levels and a simultaneous energy deficit.

The body strives to fill this deficiency by the formation of ketones.

The primary signs of ketoacidosis are abdominal pain and nausea, the secondary ones are weakness and vomiting, frequent shortness of breath, and the smell of acetone on exhalation. A progressive form of ketoacidosis is loss of consciousness and comatose coma.

Causes of ketoacidosis in adolescents include:

  • In the first place among preventive measures is the organization of proper nutrition. It is necessary to maintain water balance all the time, because in addition to insulin, the pancreas produces water solution bicarbonate, a substance that stabilizes the process of glucose penetration into the cells of the body.

Children suffering from diabetes should make it a rule to drink a glass of pure drinking water before every meal. And this minimum requirement. Coffee, sugary drinks, sparkling water do not count towards the liquid consumed. Such drinks will only harm you.

If your child is overweight (most often with type II diabetes), cut calories as much as possible in food. Calculate not only carbohydrates, but also vegetable and animal fats. Your child needs to eat more often, but not much. Follow the recommendations for proper nutrition with your child. For the company it is easier to overcome difficulties.

Include vegetables in the children's diet, cook original dishes from them. Let the child fall in love with beets, zucchini, cabbage, radishes, carrots, broccoli, onions, garlic, beans, swedes, fruits.

Treatment of diabetes in children

The main areas of treatment for childhood diabetes include:

Self-medication of diabetes can lead to an unpredictable scenario. The influence of traditional medicine is not fully understood. Therefore, you should not experiment with your child, you should not seek help from traditional healers. Treatment of the disease in adults and children is different.

Many of the advertised drugs contain a large amount of hormones, when they enter the body, they can behave in any way. A large number of side effects will only aggravate the condition of a sick child and adversely affect the function of the pancreas.

If your child has been diagnosed with diabetes, don't despair. The situation you and your baby are in is a serious one. Do not expect magic from medicines.