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Originally posted by Mirthful Me
Originally posted by hippomchippo
Perhaps because of transportation issues? There are many reasons, I just don't see why you need to bring in socialism when the problem here is the response given by the ambulance service, it's despicable that you're using this childs death to insult a socialist health care, when the problem is clearly neglect by PEOPLE running the ambulance.
There is no mention of transportation issues. The reason I brought the failure that is socialized medicine into the discussion is that I have been assured by Obama, Pelosi, reed, and every liberal pundit that all we need is socialized medicine and the world will be perfect. It's a sham. In the real world with private payers, this would not have happened. You call an ambulance, you get an ambulance. You go to the ER, you are triaged by a real human being right there in front of you... Not some ridiculous over the phone farce.
The people of the UK should be outraged over how they are being mistreated... You can bet their US counterparts will when they finally realize what kind of bargin they struck with the Devil... Unfortunately it will be too late...
Originally posted by habfan1968
reply to post by hippomchippo
No the issue is not really with the service providers, it really is with the parents of the child. The article clearly states the boy began to rapidly deteriorate on the weekend before they called for some help. But for example if the call sounded anything like this 911: "911 please state your emergency" Caller" umm my son is sick, very sick we need some help" 911" o.k can you describe the sickness,is there any blood.?" caller" no blood no but he has been having headaches and been very tired , we have kept him home from school all week because of it." 911"has he seen the doctor?" caller" no we don't have insurance" 911" no problem, health care is free here, is this really an emergency or can you take him to the doctor's office?" caller"yes we could take him but we don't have a car" 911" it does not sound like you need an ambulance but I will transfer you to Urgent Care and they will help you ok?" caller "ok thank you"
Has my toddler got diabetes?
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I agree that you should visit your son's GP to check for diabetes.
Even though he may turn out to be passing a lot of urine for other reasons such as a urinary infection, it is important not to miss conditions such as diabetes and urine infections.
You mention that your son craves sweet drinks. This is not a symptom of diabetes and diabetes is not directly caused by eating too much sugar.
The problem in diabetes is that the pancreas, a gland which lies near the stomach, does not produce enough insulin.
Insulin is a hormone which breaks down the body's fuel, glucose, allowing it to be used as energy, to repair body tissues or to be stored in the liver.
If there is no insulin the glucose stays in the bloodstream until it reaches the kidneys when it passes out of the body in the urine.
Glucose carries water with it and if it is passing through the kidneys it will make them pass a lot of urine which in turn makes the child very thirsty.
If your son was diabetic his body would not be able to hold onto glucose and would break down his fat stores to provide enough energy. This would make him lose weight and would make him eat more.
The symptoms of diabetes are therefore excessive thirst, passing lots of urine (which can cause bedwetting in children), eating a lot but fail to gain weight or losing weight and passing glucose in the urine.
If by any chance your son was diabetic it would need to be detected early on otherwise it could make him very sleepy and tired, eventually causing a coma which would require urgent hospital admission for treatment.
When you take your son to his GP take a sample of his urine with you so that it can be tested with a dipstick to see if it contains glucose. The GP can also do a finger prick test to get an immediate reading of the level of glucose in your son's blood.
If he has diabetes he will have too much glucose in his blood and probably some glucose in his urine. His GP will arrange for him to go to the local hospital where the paediatric doctors and nurses do further tests to confirm he has diabetes.
They will then treat him with insulin injections, usually twice a day, to lower the glucose in his blood. If he has been unwell for a while or is tired or sleepy he may extra fluid, either by mouth or through a drip into the veins in his arm.
The medical staff will explain his longer term treatment. He will need to avoid overloading his system with sudden surges of glucose. This means not eating sweets or chocolate and controlling how much carbohydrate he eats (e.g. potatoes and bread).
Otherwise he will be able to eat the same things as anyone else. In fact a diabetic diet is extra healthy, low in fat, high in fibre and with no sugar.
It is amazing how quickly young children adapt to both the diet and to having injections of insulin.
Indeed, if your son did turn out to be diabetic at such a young age he would grow up accepting injections as part of his daily routine. By the time he was five or six he might well be doing the injections himself.
If your son's tests show he does not have diabetes it is still worth checking his urine for infection as this could be making him pass a lot of urine. His GP can send a sample to the hospital to be checked.
If it is infected he will need a course of antibiotics to clear it and the hospital paediatrician will see him afterwards in clinic to check his kidneys and urinary tract are normal.
For further information about childhood diabetes contact Diabetes UK on www.diabetes.org.uk
Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk...
Originally posted by Mirthful Me
Another score for socialized medicine.
Originally posted by noonebutme
No, nothing to do with lazy, effete staff or poorly trained, mis-managed dispatching protocols or parents who for some bizarre reason didn't take their son to A&E. Nope. This sort of thing NEVER happens in private care or other public institutions.