Type 1 Diabetes explanation

Question 1

What is type 1 diabetes?

Answer 1

• Diabetes is a disease that affects the sugar levels in your blood.
• Just like a car needs fuel, all of the cells of the body need sugar to function properly.
• In order to get sugar from your blood and into your cells, an ezyme called insulin is required which acts a bit like the key to open the cells. Insulin is produced by the pancreas.
• In diabetes, the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, and so the sugar is unable to leave the blood and enter the cells. High levels of sugar in your blood can cause problems for your eyes, kidneys, and nerves

Question 2

Symptoms

Answer 2

Children usually:

• wee a lot in an attempt to get rid of the extra sugar in their blood
• drink a lot to make up for all the weeing
• eat a lot because the body isn’t getting enough energy
• lose weight since the body starts to use fat and muscle for fuel
• feel tired because the body can’t use sugar for energy

Hyperglycaemia: blood sugars are too high, causing dehydration and other serious consequences.

Question 3

Treatment of type 1 diabetes

Answer 3

• Monitor blood glucose
• Healthy diet & exercise
• Insulin
  
  • Injection
    
    • Caution - Too much insulin can reduce blood sugar too far.
    • Organs don’t have enough fuel to function, which may cause drowsiness/loss of consciousness