Type 1 diabetes symptoms a mystery for 9 out of 10 parents

A new diabetes awareness campaign has been launched in an effort to highlight to parents the four main symptoms of type 1 diabetes.
The campaign by charity group Diabetes UK comes in response to alarming new research which suggests that 90 per cent of parents in Britain do not know that urinating frequently, increased thirst, extreme fatigue and unexplained weight loss are all symptoms of the autoimmune condition.
The survey, conducted by market research firm IPSOS Mori, questioned 1,170 parents on the subject and found that just nine per cent of them were able to correctly identify these four symptoms .
Barbara Young, Chief Executive for Diabetes UK, said: “The symptoms of type 1 diabetes are so obvious and pronounced that there is no reason why every child with the condition cannot be diagnosed straight away. But the stark reality is that a quarter of children with type 1 diabetes become seriously unwell before being diagnosed and we need to bring this appalling situation to an end.”
To address this potentially fatal lack of understanding, Diabetes UK has rolled out a children’s campaign called the 4 Ts – Toilet, Thirsty, Tired, and Thinner – which is aimed at making it easier for parents, carers, school teachers and anyone else who works with children to learn and remember the main symptoms.
It is also designed to raise awareness among GPs, practice nurses and other healthcare professionals that they need to test for type 1 diabetes as soon as a child shows any of these symptoms to ensure early diagnosis and treatment.
“We need to get the message across that if you have a child or if you work with children, you need to make it your business to know the symptoms of type 1 diabetes,” Young continued.
“As well as making parents and those who look after and work with children aware of the symptoms, we need to increase understanding that a child who has any of the 4 Ts needs to be tested straight away. This is because onset can be so quick that a delay of a matter of hours can be the difference between being diagnosed at the right time and being diagnosed too late.”