Acetone In Children: Causes And Treatment – I’m A Mom
In children, a very low blood glucose level causes the body to burn fat as an alternative means of energy. Consequently, this produces a substance called acetone. Do you know what your symptoms and treatment are?
Causes of Acetone in Children
Acetone can occur both in healthy children and in those who are somewhat unwell, so its causes depend on the child’s health status.
in healthy children
- Fasting for many hours. Failing to eat breakfast on time or delaying mealtimes causes the sugars in the body to decrease.
- Disordered food intake. For example, if you have consumed too much fat or animal protein beyond what is needed and you have not consumed sugar.
In children with some malaise or sick
- Too much fever. When there is a prolonged fever, the body is put to great effort.
- Vomiting. If vomited several times, eliminating excess sugars.
- Pharyngitis. Because of the discomfort it causes, it prevents the child from eating or causes the appetite to decrease, thus causing prolonged fasting.
- Childhood diabetes. A decrease in blood glucose can occur due to habitual delays in eating meals or an increase in blood glucose in type 1 diabetes, due to a lack of insulin in the child’s body.
Symptoms of Acetone in Children
- Ripe apple-scented breath. Acetone is discarded by breathing in contact with the air, causing a sour smell on the child’s breath, like that of a ripe apple.
- Urine with a very strong smell. Also, when discarded in the urine, it produces a strong smell.
- Drowsiness, lack of appetite, nausea, pallor, vomiting. Due to hypoglycaemia (very low blood glucose) in both healthy and diabetic children.
- Sticky mouth, dry white tongue, digestive disturbances, irritability. Due to hyperglycemia (very high blood glucose level), exclusively in the case of diabetic children, especially type 1 (insulin dependent), due to lack of insulin or to the application of a lower dose than necessary.
Acetone treatment in children
When the symptoms mentioned above appear, it is essential to consult a specialist to determine the appropriate treatment. Still, in general, these are some of the indications:
- Food. For healthy children, avoid fatty foods often and try making fruit juices. For diabetic children with hyperglycemia, offer sugar-free fluids and avoid carbohydrates. If there is hypoglycaemia, give fluids with sugar.
- Insulin. For children with type 1 diabetes (insulin dependent), try to apply the corresponding dose.
- Rest. For both healthy and diabetic children, avoid exercise while acetone is present in the child’s body.
- In that case, the body would be forced to extract energy from the fat – because there are no glucose stores – and this will increase the amount of acetone.
- Exams. For healthy children, measure ketone bodies with the urine test. In the case of diabetics, it is not only the acetone that must be measured, but also the glucose in the blood using the glucometer.
Some recommendations
Acetone is not a disease, but it is recommended that parents know whether or not it is present in their children’s bodies.
In fact, the appearance of acetone in a child’s body is not serious if it is resolved in time. But in large quantities and for a long time it can be serious.
This is because it can cause symptoms that threaten the health of a healthy child and, if he suffers from any disease, that impairs its control and treatment.
It is essential that the pediatrician is immediately informed of the onset of any of the symptoms. Only then will you be able to analyze the child’s health status. Thus, the professional will indicate the appropriate treatment so that this pathology does not become harmful in the future.
