Diabetes Int’l Awareness Day

Marking Diabetes International Awareness Day which falls each year on November 14th, Schneider Children’s specialists said that annual incidence in Israel is 14:100,000 with the highest rate among adolescents, and that any delay in diagnosis can lead to complications or organ damage.

Diabetic Ketoacidosis is a severe and the most common complication of Diabetes Type I; it is life-threatening and as such, demands immediate treatment, and parental awareness of noticeable signs such as increased thirst, increased urination, weight loss, fatigue and weakness. Appearance of these symptoms supports diagnosis even before the manifestation of metabolic acidosis.

Prof. Liat de Vries, Director of the Diabetes Unit in the Institute of Endocrinology and Diabetes at Schneider Children’s, emphasizes that “it is important to pay attention to the child if he is thirsty and asks to drink all the time or goes frequently to the toilet, gets up in the night to urinate or wets his bed, whether he is tired, lacking in energy or loses weight. He should be taken to the ER immediately or to the family doctor who can conduct a glucose test from a prick in the finger and check the blood with a device available in the clinic, or conduct a urine test for sugar. It is not necessary to make an appointment for a blood test at the clinic as any delay of a day or two can be significant to endanger the child’s health. A speedy diagnosis can prevent complications that appear from time to time and lead to a life-threatening situation.”

The Institute of Endocrinology and Diabetes, the National Center for Childhood Diabetes at Schneider Children’s, is one of the largest centers in the world treating more than 1,600 diabetics every year. About 150 new patients are identified annually. The Institute actively conducts advanced basic and clinical research in every field of endocrinology and diabetes. 

Prof. de Vries