What Is Polydipsia?

Background: According to Ahmed AM, a member of faculty in the Medicine department at University of Bahr Elghazal, “Clinical features similar to diabetes mellitus were described 3000 years ago by the ancient Egyptians. The term "diabetes" was first coined by Araetus of Cappodocia (81-133AD). Later, the word mellitus (honey sweet) was added by Thomas Willis (Britain) in 1675 after rediscovering the sweetness of urine and blood of patients (first noticed by the ancient Indians). It was only in 1776 that Dobson (Britain) firstly confirmed the presence of excess sugar in urine and blood as a cause of their sweetness.” Scholars have even found an acient papyrus that mentions “a rare disease that causes the patient to lose weight rapidly and urinate

frequently.” This is considered to be one of the first records of diabetes being mentioned in a written record. The Greek physician Araetus, whom invented the term Diabetes, documented a disease with the following symptoms: polydipsia, polyuria, and weight loss.

Polydipsia is the medical term for constant thirst, and polyuria is the medical term for excessive urination. He chose the word “Diabetes” because it loosely translated to “Flowing Freely”. In modern times, Diabetes can actually be related to a long list of symptoms that had not been recorded by the ancient Egyptians. The list of presently known symptoms now includes, frequent urination, excessive thirst, increased hunger, weight loss, tiredness, lack of interest and concentration, a tingling sensation or numbness/paresthesia in the hands or feet, blurred vision, frequent infections, slow-healing wounds, and lastly, vomiting and stomach pain (which is often mistaken for the

flu).
Objective: Diabetes Mellitus type two used to be called Adult-Onset Diabetes, but we are now seeing it become more prevalent in children and teens (sources say due to obesity). “Children have a higher risk of type 2 diabetes if they are obese, have a family history of diabetes, or are not active, and do not eat well. … Children and teens with type 1 diabetes may need to take insulin. Type 2 diabetes may be controlled with diet and exercise. If not, patients will need to take oral diabetes medicines or insulin.” According to the CDC, 151,000 people before the age of 20 have been diagnosed with diabetes. “Twenty years ago, it was virtually unknown in people younger than 30, and was considered a disease of aging. But as obesity and physical inactivity have increased, Type 2 diabetes has increased as well. Obese children as young as eight can get Type 2, but it’s seen more frequently in obese adolescents.”
Results: There are a myriad of research groups and programs to help change the statistics on childhood obesity, including the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the Children Diabetes Foundation, Seattle Children’s Research Institute and many more.

They conduct research, raise money and raise awareness for childhood diabetes and obesity. Health and fitness programs are being implemented at elementary and middle schools, as well as more physical activity, and healthier school lunch options. There are also lots of fundraisers that raise funds for more research and increase awareness (which is the priority in preventing childhood diabetes), including one of the bigger name fundraisers called Kids Walk to Cure

Diabetes.
Conclusion: If we don’t raise knowledge and understanding about childhood obesity and the link to childhood diabetes, we will have a serious epidemic on our hands. In order to prevent it, we must understand it. I think the research programs and fundraisers are great places to start, and I’m glad I chose this as a topic. I learned a lot about diabetes, especially in children, and this is very important to me. I have a 12 year-old brother who is severely obese and we are learning about the ways to prevent diabetes. Had we known the link between obesity and diabetes, we may have been more proactive in his health and fitness levels and eating habits. It might not affect you or me specifically, but this affects the next generation, the future generation. It’s time to make some changes. Let’s get healthy!