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When it comes to diabetes, it is important to distinguish between the two forms of the disease. Type 2 diabetes, the most prevalent, affects 4 million people in France and is treated fairly well, often with lifestyle adaptations and pills. Less known because it is less common, type 1 diabetes nevertheless affects 400,000 French people and generally requires more restrictive treatments. Invited Tuesday by Without appointment, the Europa 1 health program, endocrinologist Ghislaine Hochberg examines the symptoms of this immune system disease.
Unlike type 2 diabetes, it has the particularity of being unleashed in most cases in young patients, aged between 18 and 30 years, and more rarely in children. Some symptoms should alert, especially when it comes to the little ones.
A stunning clinical picture
“Type 1 diabetes is insulin-dependent diabetes, meaning that the patient will need insulin to survive from the onset of the disease,” recalls Ghislaine Hochberg, when type 2 diabetes occurs rather after 45 years. it is regulated during the first few years with oral hygienic-dietary and antidiabetic rules, before considering the insulin injections.
In children, the incidence of type 1 diabetes is 15 cases per 100,000 people. An infrequent disease therefore among the youngest, but the flash of symptoms should alert immediately. “It is a real storm in a person’s life”, points out our specialist. “Symptoms appear overnight and do not go unnoticed, especially in usually dynamic children.”
It is a general state of great fatigue, accompanied by a desire to drink a lot and polyuria, that is, frequent urination. “We are also seeing significant and very rapid weight loss, even in quite round children,” adds Ghislaine Hochberg.
How to react?
At this point, the baby should be taken to his family doctor or pediatrician. Depending on the child’s condition, the family may find it helpful to go directly to the emergency room. Diagnosis is usually made within a few days. It may take a little longer in young adults where symptoms may come on more gradually, initially suggesting type 2 diabetes.
How is a diagnosis obtained?
The doctor who will be taking care of the child will be able to pass several tests, two in particular which will leave little doubt about the nature of the disease. “First a blood sugar, that is a blood test, which is done in the laboratory, and which allows you to measure the level of sugar in the blood. If it is high, it leads to diabetes”, specifies Ghislaine Hochberg. “The detection of acetone in the urine, through the use of a test strip, is a sign of severity that requires a rapid injection of insulin.”
After that ?
Long-term follow-up of the disease is carried out by a specialist. Once diagnosed, children and their families can expect their daily lives to be turned upside down. However, the evolution of treatments has made life a lot easier for diabetics in recent years.
Although in most cases the daily insulin administration is still done with an injection pen, there are less restrictive systems such as matchbox-sized pumps. “It is a material that contains an insulin reservoir with a motor that delivers insulin continuously for 24 hours,” and whose setting the patient can adapt, specifies our endocrinologist. Today, dermal patches allow you to replace the placement of a catheter. They can also replace the use of a dextro machine to monitor blood sugar levels. The patient can directly read the measurements collected by the sticker on their smartphone.
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