“If any child loses weight, gets tired, drinks a lot and pisses a little, let’s go doctor!” This is the prevention message launched by the Reunion Regional Health Agency as part of an awareness campaign against type 1 diabetes.
Harry Amourani, Ophélie Maraval, Jean-Régis Ramsamy
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Published on November 28, 2024 at 12:17 p.m.,
updated November 28, 2024 at 12:25 p.m.
Kenny is 14 years old and was diagnosed with diabetes four years ago. “In 2020, he fell into a coma for a week and when he woke up, he had to undergo rehabilitation to speak, walk… It was difficult“, confides his mother Emmanuelle. For the whole family, it is a real shock.
“He drank a lot of water, he went to the toilet often, but we didn’t know that these were actually symptoms. We thought he had gastro but in the end it was diabetes.“. Hence the importance of the awareness campaign led by the Regional Health Agency to inform parents about the first signs of the disease.
In Reunion, diabetes affects an average of 400 children per year, including 320 children who have type 1 diabetes.It is a diabetes which results in the destruction of the pancreas by immune cells, which means that it is the patient’s own organism which turns against him“, explains Vincent Appavoupoullé, pediatrician-endocrinologist who is also responsible for the diabetology department at GHER.
As in Kenny’s case, the disease most often appears suddenly, in children or young adults, but it can sometimes also be present from birth and only become apparent during adolescence.
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©Ophélie Maraval
The symptoms are described in Creole on the poster which serves as support for this ARS campaign: if the child loses weight, is often tired, drinks a lot of water and urinates a lot or often wets the bed, he You should consult your pediatrician or treating physician. Gérad Cotellon, director of ARS Réunion, talks about a campaign “absolutely necessary“.
“All parents must be aware of the symptoms of type 1 diabetes to prevent children from arriving in hospital in serious condition”
Gérad Cotellon, director of ARS Réunion
When the disease occurs, and without parental vigilance, children can end up in ketoacidosis and go into a diabetic coma. “This is all very traumatic“.
Type 1 diabetics must check their blood sugar several times a day, inject insulin several times a day, eat a balanced diet and, like everyone else, practice regular physical activity, in order to best preserve their balance. glycemic
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