Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
When Claragh kept running to loo and asking for drinks.. we knew something was wrong
Mum urges parents to check kids for 4 signs of diabetes
THREE years ago Claragh Gibney was a healthy, happy nine-year-old schoolgirl.
But it was during a family trip that mum Teresa began to suspect something wasn’t quite right with her daughter.
The Ballynahinch mum explained: “She was a perfectly healthy nine-year -old. She went to school and attended dance classes – it wasn’t until we went on holidays that she started to get sick.
“We noticed her asking for drinks – water, juice or lollypops, anything to quench her thirst. Then she started to go to the toilet a lot but I thought it was just the heat and because she was drinking so much. A few days later she started becoming very tired, she didn’t want to do anything, it all happened so quickly.”
Alarmed by Claragh’s symptoms, Teresa took her to the GP when they returned and it was then she was informed her daughter was Type 1 diabetic.
Every year between 100 and 130 children develop the condition in Northern Ireland. Teresa and Claragh are now speaking out to urge other parents to be aware of the “Four Ts” that are telltale signs of Type 1 diabetes.
Symptoms in children and young people can develop over a few days or weeks and parents and carers should look out for the “4Ts”. They are:
Toilet – going to the loo a lot, bed wetting starts unexpectedly
Thirsty – child being really thirsty Tired – more tired than usual, and Thinner – losing weight or looking thinner than normal.
Teresa continued: “With Claragh, all the symptoms didn’t present at the same time, it was over the course of two weeks. I would urge parents to make themselves aware of the 4Ts and if they notice any of the symptoms to speak to their GP.
“Claragh is now doing really well, she has an insulin pump, she knows the importance of what she puts into her body, she reads the food packaging and weighs her own food. She does everything that she did before including her dancing, she is just amazing.” Dr Brid Farrell, assistant director of service development and screening at the Public Health Agency, said: “Children can develop diabetes at any time.
“We therefore want to raise awareness of the four most common symptoms to make sure all children who develop the condition are diagnosed early.
“We are urging parents to make themselves aware of the signs and if you do notice anything, I would urge you to get your child’s blood sugar checked that day.”
With Type 1 diabetes, early diagnosis is important in children, otherwise their condition can deteriorate rapidly with serious consequences such as diabetic ketoacidosis.
DKA occurs when the body starts to run out of insulin. This causes harmful substances called ketones to build up in the body which needs urgent medical attention and hospital admission.
Dr Farrell continued: “If we diagnose early, we can start early treatment and avoid DKA and we can also sometimes avoid hospital admission.
“Keeping an eye out for the 4Ts can result in earlier diagnosis.
“If parents are concerned about a child they should have their blood glucose checked either in the GP surgery or local pharmacy.”
There are other symptoms aside from the 4Ts that can indicate a problem– for further information on the condition visit www.pha.site/type1.