Norm of blood sugar in children
Detection of many diseases in the early stages helps to treat them more effectively, so the child in the first years of life is prescribed various tests, among which there are blood sugar tests.
What kind of analysis determines the level of glucose in the blood?
Usually, blood for the determination of glucose is taken from the finger. If the result is elevated, the child is further prescribed to re-determine glucose, determine glucose tolerance (a test is carried out with a load of glucose), as well as a study of the level of glycated hemoglobin.
What values are considered normal?
In the first year of life the rate of glucose is from 2.8 to 4.4 mmol / l.
Aged 12 months to 5 years the normal blood sugar index is between 3.3 and 5 mmol / l.
In children over the age of five norms of this indicator meet the standards in adults and range from 3.3 to 5.5 mmol / l.
| Your child's age | The value of the norm depending on age |
| Up to 12 months | from 2.8 to 4.4 mmol / l. |
| 1 year | from 3.3 to 5 mmol / l. |
| 2 years | from 3.3 to 5 mmol / l. |
| 3 years | from 3.3 to 5 mmol / l. |
| 4 years | from 3.3 to 5 mmol / l. |
| 5 years | from 3.3 to 5 mmol / l. |
| 6 years | from 3.3 to 5.5 mmol / l. |
| 7 years | from 3.3 to 5.5 mmol / l. |
| 8 years | from 3.3 to 5.5 mmol / l. |
| 9 years | from 3.3 to 5.5 mmol / l. |
| 10 years | from 3.3 to 5.5 mmol / l. |
| Older than 11 years | from 3.3 to 5.5 mmol / l. |
Causes of sugar level deviations
The glucose level depends on many factors, both on the nutrition of the child and on the work of the digestive tract, as well as on the influence of various hormones (insulin, glucagon, thyroid hormones, hypothalamus, adrenal glands and others).
Reduced rate
A decrease in blood sugar in a child may be due to:
- Long fasting and reduced water intake.
- Severe chronic diseases.
- Insulinoma.
- Diseases of the digestive tract - gastritis, duodenitis, pancreatitisenteritis.
- Diseases of the nervous system - pathologies of the brain, severe brain injuries and others.
- Sarcoidosis.
- Poisoning with chloroform or arsenic.
Increased rate
A persistent increase in sugar level leads, above all, to the conclusion that a child is present. diabetes.
Also, an increase in blood glucose of the baby may be due to:
- Incorrectly performed analysis - if the child ate before blood collection or he had physical or nervous tension before the study.
- Diseases of the thyroid gland, adrenal glands and pituitary gland.
- Pancreatic tumors in which insulin production decreases.
- Obese.
- Long-term use of glucocorticoids and anti-nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
Effects
A sharp drop in blood sugar in a child is manifested by an increase in the activity of the baby and his anxiety. A child may ask for sweet food. Then comes a short-term excitement, the child is sweating, he is dizzy, he becomes pale, after which the baby may faint, sometimes with unexpressed convulsions. Sweet food or intravenous glucose will immediately improve the condition. Such states are called hypoglycemia and they are dangerous risk of developing hypoglycemic coma, which can lead to death.
With an increase in glucose, many of the symptoms coincide (weakness, headaches, cold extremities), but still a child notes dry mouth and asks for drinking. Also, with an increase in glucose, itching of the skin and digestive problems are possible. All these symptoms should be given increased attention, as long-term hyperglycemia without treatment impairs brain function.
Can the results be unreliable?
The risk that a glucose test result is erroneous always exists. Therefore, if any of the studies gives an increased figure, the doctor always recommends that you donate blood again (to conduct the same study) to eliminate errors in the laboratory.
If the increased results were identified in two analyzes at once, they should not be repeated. In this case, the probability of an erroneous result is very low. It is also recommended to repeat the analysis in a situation if in any of the analyzes the indicator is at the upper limit of the norm.
Parents should also take into account the fact that tests may be unreliable if the child has a cold, stress or other illness. These factors may increase glucose and distort test results.
Have you properly prepared for the analysis?
Before the study, which determines the glucose, the child should not eat at least eight hours. Most often, tests are taken in the morning, so in the evening the day before, let the child have dinner, and in the morning before the tests, just drink regular water. It is also not recommended to brush your teeth in the morning to the baby, so that the sugar from the toothpaste, which gets into the children's body through the gums, does not distort the results.
