When stories are written about diabetes, the focus is often on type 2 diabetes because it is by far the most common form of the disease. But there is another type of diabetes that deserves attention—one that parents, in particular, need to know about—and that is type 1 diabetes. It’s usually diagnosed in children, teens and young adults and is a lifelong condition that must be carefully controlled.

How it develops

Type 1 diabetes is caused by the lack of insulin, a hormone that moves sugar from the bloodstream into cells to be used for energy. Without insulin to move it into cells, sugar builds up in the bloodstream.

Signs and symptoms of type 1 diabetes are mainly caused by the inability to use that sugar for energy and by excess levels of unused sugar spilling into the urine, leading to dehydration.

Signs and symptoms of the disease include:

• Hunger, sometimes severe.
• Weight loss.
• Increased thirst.
• Increased urination. This is easily missed in infants who are not yet toilet trained. It can also cause accidents in children previously toilet trained.
• Fatigue.
• Irritability.

How it is detected and treated

If you think your child might have type 1 diabetes, see your child’s primary care provider (PCP) right away—it’s important to find the disease as early as possible. The PCP can diagnose the disease by checking your child’s blood and urine.

Type 1 diabetes is treated with regular daily injections of insulin, which are delivered with small syringes and tiny, short needles that are almost painless.

Blood sugar levels need to be checked several times a day with a finger stick. Blood sugar is measured when a tiny drop of blood is placed on a strip that’s inserted into a home glucose meter.

How you can help

If your child is diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, you can help your child by giving him or her a lot of love and support. Children with the disease can lead happy and healthy lives if the disease is kept under control.

Work with a diabetes educator to create a healthy eating plan that will help manage your child’s diabetes and will include food that everyone in the family can enjoy. And make staying active a family priority.

You might want to consider joining a support group for parents of children with diabetes. Your child might want to join a support group of their own too.

Let him or her know that many successful people—from Olympic athletes to rock stars to famous actors—have diabetes. The disease has not held them back from their dreams, and it shouldn’t hold your child back either.

Sources: American Academy of Pediatrics; American Diabetes Association; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention