Juvenile diabetes, also known as type 1 diabetes or insulin-depended diabetes is a metabolic disorder that mostly affects children and adolescents. Symptoms of juvenile diabetes will appear gradually and in the beginning they are usually mistaken with symptoms for other diseases.

Even though the symptoms appear one at time, they generally develop quickly, so if your child is experiencing any two or three of them then you should get him tested because the earlier the treatment starts the better. So, if any of the following symptoms of juvenile diabetes appear together in a one month time period then go immediately to a doctor.

Excessive thirst is a symptom for most types of diabetes and it usually comes together with excessive urination and dehydration. If you notice all these three together then it’s a clear sign of diabetes. If they are separated then each one can have different causes. Excessive thirst can also be caused by short term reasons like eating too salty or too sugary or consumption of illicit drugs like ecstasy. Excessive urination can also be a sign of urinary tract infection, a bladder condition, hyper and hypocalcaemia or chronic renal failure. Just make sure you don’t confuse it with frequent urination because they are two different things. Excessive urination means that the quantity of urine eliminated in a period of 24 hours surpasses 2.5 liters.

Weight loss can occur due to various problems but if is associated with an excessive hunger then this means there might be a case of diabetes. If your child is eating daily, and is eating more than he should and he is still losing weight get him tested immediately to avoid the apparition of other symptoms and the side-effects caused by not treating the diabetes. Of course, both can have other causes too. Weight loss is a frequent symptom of eating disorders or anxiety, while the excessive hunger can also point to a brain disorder, depression or bulimia.

Some other symptoms than happen together are tiredness, which causes irritability and blurred vision. If your child is tired even though he sleeps well at night and he doesn’t have too many daily activities then this means he has a medical condition and you should get him to a doctor’s office. And if it’s associated with a blurred vision then you should hurry because any sudden change in the vision means a serious problem.

If your child has indeed juvenile diabetes then he will start a treatment right away meaning he will have to get injected with insulin up to a few times a day to regulate the levels of glucose in the blood.