What is Type 1 Diabetes?

Could you please tell me about type 1 diabetes?

Our bodies are made of millions of tiny particles called cells. This is like the way bricks make up houses. These cells are so small that you can't see them. Our bodies need fuel to keep on working, the same way a car needs petrol to keep on running. Our bodies use sugar to make energy. Our bodies get sugar from food- this is why we eat.


We eat food to get energy in the form of sugar. Yum!

These cells are behind a door, and need a special key called insulin to unlock the door. This way, sugar can get in and can be used by the cells. When insulin is working properly, we can get the energy that we need to learn and play.


Insulin is like a key that unlocks doors for sugar.

If you have type 1 diabetes, the germ fighting army of the body, called the immune system, gets confused and attacks the organ that creates insulin. The type 1 diabetes person ends up with no more insulin. Nobody is sure why this happens. It is not the fault of the person with type 1 diabetes. You can't "catch" type 1 diabetes the way you would a cold, and you don't get it by eating too many lollies. You can't get better from type 1 diabetes- you have it for the rest of your life.


This girl has type 1 diabetes, because her immune system got confused and she has no more insulin.

Sugar is moved around the body by blood, where it is carried to all the cells. Without insulin to unlock cells, sugar builds up in blood. To stop sugar from building up inside blood, a person with type 1 diabetes has to have insulin injections every day.

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