Signs & Symptoms of High Blood Sugar Levels in Children

Children with high blood sugar levels are diabetic, and should be treated by a physician in order to maintain lower blood glucose levels. There are several signs and symptoms that can indicate whether a child has high blood sugar. Once the symptoms are evident, medical testing can confirm the presence of high blood sugar.

Dehydration

• When blood glucose levels are high, the kidneys have to filter out the excess sugar and pass it from the body in urine. To produce enough urine to pass the excess sugar, the kidneys must draw fluid from bodily tissues. Frequent urination results in dehydration, which causes excessive thirst in children with high blood sugar levels.

Hunger

• Because the body is unable to efficiently process the food that is consumed, children with high blood sugar levels experience constant hunger. The hunger is a reaction to the body's need for calories, which are excreted in the urine rather than being used for energy.

Weight Loss

• A child with high blood sugar levels is not using the sugar in the blood. The calories in the sugar are going to waste, instead of being stored as fat or used to fuel the body's activities. When the body needs fuel, it has to get it from body fat instead, which results in weight loss.

Yeast Infections

• Frequent and recurring vaginal yeast infections can be an indicator of high blood sugar levels in children as well, including infants. Yeast feeds on sugar, and will thrive in an environment that is high in sugar, such as the body of a child with high blood glucose levels.

Medical Testing

• Urine tests that indicate the presence of sugar and ketones are a sign that the child has high blood sugar levels. Sugar in the urine shows that the kidneys are being forced to filter it from the blood and excrete it in the urine. Ketones are the byproduct of ketosis, the process by which fat is converted into energy, and show that the child is using body fat stores rather than the food consumed.