What is diabetes information for kids?

What Is Diabetes? Diabetes is a disease that affects how the body uses glucose (say: GLOO-kose), a sugar that is the body’s main source of fuel. Your body needs glucose to keep running.

How does a child get diabetes?

In most cases, a child has to be exposed to something else — like a virus — to get type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes isn’t contagious, so kids and teens can’t catch it from another person or pass it along to friends or family members. And eating too much sugar doesn’t cause type 1 diabetes, either.

How do you teach kids about diabetes?

To help, try to make blood sugar testing and giving insulin part of your child’s daily routine, like diaper changes or going down for a nap. Perform diabetes care quickly and gently, in a soothing manner, and reassure your child with calming words afterward. Preschoolers still rely on parents for their diabetes care.

Is childhood diabetes curable?

Right now, there’s no cure for diabetes, so kids with type 1 diabetes will need treatment for the rest of their lives. But with proper care, they should look and feel healthy and go on to live long, productive lives, just like other kids.

Can a 5 year old have diabetes?

Articles On Type 1 Diabetes in Children It used to be called juvenile diabetes because most of the people who got it were young children. Your child could get type 1 diabetes as an infant, or later, as a toddler or a teen. Most often, it appears after age 5. But some people don’t get it until their late 30s.

What age can a child get diabetes?

People can develop type 1 diabetes at any age, from early childhood to adulthood, but the average age at diagnosis is 13 years. An estimated 85% of all type 1 diagnoses take place in people aged under 20 years.

What age is diabetes diagnosed?

Did You Know? The peak age for being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes is around 13 or 14 years, but people can be diagnosed when they’re much younger (including babies) and older (even over 40).

How do you teach children about diabetes?

To help, try to make blood sugar testing and giving insulin part of your child’s daily routine, like diaper changes or going down for a nap. Perform diabetes care quickly and gently, in a soothing manner, and reassure your child with calming words afterward.

Is diabetes rare for kids?

Diabetes is rare in children under 5, but if young children develop diabetes it is very serious. Here is how to spot the symptoms of diabetes and manage the condition.