Type 2 Diabetes is often associated with adults. Not most people know that children as young as nine years old can also get diagnosed with the disorder.

In fact, at least four children in Tauranga, New Zealand had already received support from Diabetes Help, which is a registered charity that helps people diagnosed with diabetes. The youngest that the group has ever helped is a kid aged nine years old. They believe that more affected patients have not been recorded as they are being treated at other health care centers. All in all, about 200 children below 18 years old have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

To know if a child has type 2 diabetes, one should be knowledgeable about the signs and symptoms of the disorder. Here are some of the clinical manifestations that parents should look out for to determine if their children have type 2 diabetes.

Increased Hunger

Children with type 2 diabetes lack the insulin they need in order to transport nutrients from the blood to the cells. So when the cells sense that they lack adequate nutrition, the brain is signalled to induce the sensation of hunger thus, having a child who frequently wants to eat.

Increased Thirst

Increased thirst is common among children with type 2 diabetes because it signals that sugar is elevated in the blood, resulting in the kidney's failure to pull out glucose or sugar from water. The glucose eventually builds up and water can no longer be absorbed in the bloodstream and into the cells, causing the person to thirst.

Frequent Urination

When there is an increased level of sugar in the blood, the tendency is for it to attract water from the tissues. The water goes into the kidneys for processing and excreted out of the body as urine.

Easy Fatigability

A high content of sugar in the blood slows down the circulation thus adequate nutrition is not delivered to all parts of the body at once. The delayed transport causes one to feel sluggish and tired.

Weight Loss

Weight loss may be observed in children with type 2 diabetes because their blood sugar levels tend to fluctuate. Sugar supplies muscles and tissues and when the erratic trend of blood sugar drops, children may also suffer from weight loss.

Hard-to-heal Wounds

Wounds that take a little longer than usual to heal is caused by slow circulation. As the oxygen-rich bloods are not drained to the needed organs at once, the tendency is for wounds to stay unhealed for a longer period of time.

Early detection is the key to preventing type 2 diabetes in children. "By detecting the early signs of damage to feet, eyes (and) kidneys active treatment can be undertaken to reduce the risk of amputation, renal failure, blindness, heart attack and stroke," said Debbie Cunliffe from Diabetes Help.

Photo: Scott Akerman | Flickr