Burnham-On-Sea MP Tessa Munt has this week given her backing to a national campaign to raise awareness of the four main symptoms of Type 1 diabetes.
Tessa attended a parliamentary reception to launch Diabetes UK’s ‘four Ts’ campaign, which highlights the four symptoms of Type 1 diabetes – Toilet, Thirsty, Tired and Thinner.
She heard that, despite Diabetes being a serious condition, nine out of ten parents are unable to correctly identify frequent urinating, excessive thirst, extreme tiredness and unexplained weight loss as the main symptoms of the condition.
Diabetes UK believes this is one of the reasons why a quarter of children with Type 1 diabetes are only diagnosed once they are already seriously ill with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), a life threatening condition that needs immediate treatment in hospital.
Tessa said: “It is important that every parent and carer in my patch knows about Diabetes UK’s ‘four Ts’ campaign. At the moment too many children are only being diagnosed with diabetes when they are already very ill, but there is no reason why children with the condition can’t get a quick diagnosis.”
Barbara Young, Diabetes UK Chief Executive, added: “We are delighted that Tessa is supporting our campaign and is helping us raise awareness of the key signs and symptoms of Type 1 diabetes. This will help ensure children are diagnosed at the right time and avoid the horror of becoming so ill that their life is in danger.”
