There are a few types of diabetes such as gestational diabetes and monogenic diabetes. However, we will focus on type 1 diabetes. What is actually type 1 diabetes? Type 1 diabetes is a condition where a person’s immune system destroys the beta cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, a type of hormone that helps to transfer glucose into cells throughout the body. When type 1 diabetes occurs, insulin can’t be produced, causing glucose to remain inside the blood which could cause more severe complications afterwards. Because of that, type 1 diabetes can be called insulin-dependent diabetes. This is different from type 2 diabetes where the cells themselves are resistant towards insulin.

Type 1 diabetes normally strikes small children and teenagers, and so it is also called juvenile diabetes. Juvenile diabetes striking children is a burdensome matter as they have to be constantly aware of their sugar level. Juvenile diabetes strikes suddenly and can be characterised by a few symptoms such as constant thirst, frequent urination, extreme hunger and weight loss. All these symptoms are caused by the body which needs a lot of fluid to balance the glucose level and also to transport excessive glucose out of the body. Weight loss and hunger happen because body cells are deprived of energy as glucose can’t be transported into the cells, so more food are needed to supply energy for physical activities.

Some other symptoms of juvenile diabetes includes fatigue, blurred vision, numbness especially in the hands or feet and wine odour breath. These symptoms occur as fluid from all over the body are needed to balance the level of glucose in the blood stream. Children having these symptoms are in big risk of having juvenile diabetes. Children having juvenile diabetes needs 24/7 of care as they must check their sugar level by pricking their fingers for blood for 6-7 times per day. They also need multiple insulin injections daily and also insulin infusion through a pump. All these treatments cause the children not to be able to join physical activities actively. Moreover, they also have to be aware of hyperglycaemic and hypoglycaemic which can be life threatening. As insulin helps to keep further complications at bay, eventually juvenile diabetes can cause amputations, heart attack and other devastating complications.

Juvenile diabetes can only be controlled through proper exercises, healthy diet and constant insulin injections. With such difficulty, it is advisable to watch out for those symptoms and send children for medical check-ups to enable diabetes treatment and prevention during the early stages.