"Doctor, how is my child's diabetes different from my Father-in-law's diabetes?" Type 1 vs Type 2 Diabetes

Not all "Sugar problems" are the same. Unfortunately for Children with Diabetes, their families and surrounding people often confuse their problem with the problems grown-ups with diabetes have. Whereas this is factually not correct, it also leads to several problems for these children and also unnecessary trauma to these families.

Why cant Childhood Diabetes be treated with oral pills.

Giving injection to your own child can be one of the most traumatic experiences a parent can have.

Children's with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus or childhood diabetes( Type-1 Diabetes)require regular insulin injections. More commonly they need to be injected insulin four times a day and understandably this aspect of diabetes is the most painful one for the child as well as the parents. Add to it regular blood sugar testing that we have to do to estimate the dose requirement and blood glucose control and in this makes for a terrible number of pricks a child is getting day in and day out. No wonder every parent wants their child to be freed from these injections and daily pain.

Doctor, why did my child get diabetes?

The foremost question of parent asks is, " why....."

The diagnosis of childhood diabetes is a big shock to the family. Along with the huge mountain of sadness comes a big responsibility, and with it comes a question ”Doctor, why did it happen to my child”??........

What are the Signs and Symptoms of Childhood Diabetes...?

Usually, childhood diabetes has a dramatic presentation

 A seemingly healthy child starts passing urine very often, starts drinking a lot of water especially waking up in the night and asking for water. The large volume and frequency of urine is because of the increased blood glucose(sugar) load on the kidneys and the sugar draws out a lot of water from the body as urine. Because of the losses , he/she starts losing weight and the clothes start becoming loose. This despite the fact that the appetite and thirst are very much increased. The child may be really irritable and tired all the time. Often a subtle clue may be that ants are crawling around the place where the child urinates in the toilet or the courtyard.

What Is Childhood Diabetes?

What is diabetes

Childhood diabetes (also known as Type 1 Diabetes) is a medical condition in which the body cannot produce insulin. Insulin is needed by the body to convert sugar glucose) into energy for body cells. Without energy body cells cannot work. Hence without insulin our body starves to death. 

It is important to note that everyone is insulin dependent. No one can survive without insulin. People without diabetes make insulin in their pancreas.Children with diabetes need to inject insulin inside their body.

Why does the body stop producing insulin??

Is your Child REALLY Underweight ?

Weight gain is a universal concern. All parents want their kids to be healthy and an appropriate weight is very reassuring to most parents because  this means that their kid is growing & developing in a healthy way. However there are many misconceptions in the society regarding weight of infants and toddlers .  Concerns about childhood weight gain are a very common cause of consultation in my Growth Clinic. 

Are You Worried?

If you are worried that there is something abnormal and your child is not gaining weight, stop thinking and  first evaluate whether  in reality the weight is less or not.

                       Normal weight at different ages for Indian Children

	BOYS	GIRLS
6 months	6.5-10 kg	6-9 kg
1 year	8-12 kg	7-11 kg
18 months	9-13 kg	8-13 kg
2 years	10-15 kg	9-15 kg

In further doubtful cases , for a thorough evaluation only weight doesn’t give the complete picture and other parameters like weight for height have to be plotted on a Growth Chart and assessed that can be done by a

 Growth Specialist

So is your Child REALLY underweight?

If your child actually falls in the underweight category, evaluation is needed. In a child who is otherwise not having any medical problems and doesn’t need medications very often, the underweight situation is usually due to a lack of adequate calorie intake. Ensuring adequate food intake is the first step and often the only step needed to bring your child in the normal weight bracket for his/her age.

I shall discuss the common issues in young child feeding and the common problems parents face while feeding tiny tots in subsequent blog posts. So watch this space .

In case you have any specific worries and queries, please feel free to write in the comments section. We ll try to address them. 

Happy Growing 😊..

Dr Uppal, Saurabh

Childhood Growth & Hormone Specialist







Dr. Uppal is a Pediatric Endocrinologist and Director at ENDOKIDZ Centre for Growth, Diabetes, and Hormones for Children at Jalandhar, Punjab India.

If you have any concerns about your height, Consult your family doctor or your Child's pediatrician and request them to assess the child height and plot the child's height on a GROWTH CHART. If the height is less than what is expected at that age, your doctor may refer the child to a Pediatric Endocrinologist.

Is Your Child Growing Normally??

     

           A parent's frequent question in my Growth clinic is,

                                                       " Doctor, is my child growing up all right?" 

          while this question has numerous answers depending on the child in question, there are certain basic facts every parent must know about growth. 

        Let's discuss the first part of the growth series

    Growth is the miracle of childhood.. 

      How a little bundle of joy at birth transitions and transforms into an adult human is truly a remarkable feat of nature,,,

 Growth is universal

        Every child grows. And hence we tend to take it for granted.... until something goes wrong and the child stops growing well.

       But do you really need to wait before your child comes up with a serious growth problem?

                               The answer is NO...

Can you pick up a problem before it becomes severe?

                                                          

                               The answer is YES..

 Can you monitor the child's growth yourself?

                                The answer is YES. 

What is growth

Growth means increase in height and weight of the child

Why do you need to look at your childs growth carefully
 

       To put it in simple words, growth is the sum total of all the body processes. If growth is alright, it means most of the body processes are going well so you can stop worrying about your kiddo’s health

As a law of nature

A Well Growing Child is a Healthy Child

What does good growth tell us

1.  Nutrition intake is good

2.  All Hormones are fine

3.  Metabolism is co-ordinated

4   Illnesses arent ‘consuming away’ the child's inner body.

5.  Child is in psychosocial well being (happy kids grow better)

        

         A child who is not growing well has a deficiency or a disorder.Height is nature’s early warning sign, a VISUAL ALARM for parents and physicians not increasing in height  could indicate certain invisible problems are going on inside the child’s body

So how can  you know that your child is growing normally?

1.   Is he/she not outgrowing clothes every year?

2. Is the shoe size not increasing every year?

       3.   Is he/she among the 3 shortest children in class?

       4.    Is he/she not growing atleast 5 cm per year

5.    Is he/she also much leaner or chubbier than classmates?

         If the answer to any of these questions is yes, this child needs to be looked at carefully. the growth parameters need to be measured and marked and followed up regularly.

     I must stress here that every child must have his/her own growth chart.It is a paper which has markings of ideal height and weight at all ages. Each visit to a pediatrician must have a recording of height and weight done on the growth chart.

      I shall cover the topic on how to plot a growth chart yourself in the coming days.

   Happy Growing 😊..

Dr Uppal, Saurabh

Childhood Growth & Hormone Specialist







Dr. Uppal is a Pediatric Endocrinologist and Director at ENDOKIDZ Centre for Growth, Diabetes, and Hormones for Children at Jalandhar, Punjab India.

If you have any concerns about your height, Consult your family doctor or your Child's pediatrician and request them to assess the child height and plot the child's height on a GROWTH CHART. If the height is less than what is expected at that age, your doctor may refer the child to a Pediatric Endocrinologist.