Child Diabetes: What Is Diabetes?
A diagnosis of diabetes
for your child is no doubt accompanied by a wide range of emotions. How is this
going to impact my child and their friends? Their school day? How can I keep
them safe and healthy?
Diabetes is a condition in
which the body does not make or properly use insulin. Insulin is a hormone that
is needed to convert sugar and other food into the energy needed for daily
life. People with diabetes have increased blood glucose levels due to an absence
of insulin, or resistance to insulin's effects. Since the glucose is not
processed into energy, the body loses its main source of fuel and the glucose
is absorbed into your blood. Having too much glucose in your blood can damage
your eyes, kidneys, and nerves over time.
It may take some time for
your family to work through all of the emotions brought on by the diagnosis.
Caring for and controlling the diabetes will become a routine part of daily
life.
Type 1 diabetes, previously known as juvenile diabetes, is a
disease in which the body does not make insulin. Type 1 diabetes is typically
diagnosed in children and young adults and lasts their entire lives. Although
it takes work to manage the disease, people with diabetes can live long,
healthy, happy lives.
Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes in which the
body produces a smaller-than-normal amount of insulin or fails to properly use
it. It is most often diagnosed in adults, but is being seen more in children
and adolescents due to rising rates of obesity.
