My friend has type 1 diabetes. What can I do?

There are a few things which you can do to help your friend if they have type 1 diabetes.

• Understand that if person with type 1 diabetes manages their diabetes well, they can do everything everybody else can do, too! However, there are some things you need to remember with your type 1 diabetes friend to help them out.
  

People with type 1 diabetes can have fun just like everybody else!

• Don't share sweet things like lollies with your friend.
  
• Make sure they eat their own recess and lunch- don't forget to eat yours too!
  
• If you have your friend over at your house, understand they need to eat regular meals. Healthy food is great!
  
• Play sport together, because excercise is very good for both of you, and a lot of fun.
  

Exercise is great for ALL kids- even those with type 1 diabetes!

• Sometimes your friend may seem tired or cranky sometimes, or not be able to concentrate at school. If this happens, they may not have enough sugar in their blood. They may need a sweet thing like a jelly bean. You can probably find some for them with the teacher at their desk, or at the office.
  

Kids with type 1 diabetes may need lollies or sweet thing when they don't have enough sugar in their blood.

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Insulin injections and blood sugar levels

Insulin injections aren't scary or yucky, but are a normal part of managing type 1 diabetes.


This is what an insulin injection needle looks like. Remember, a person with type 1 diabetes needs to have these every day.

If the person who has type 1 diabetes skips their insulin injections, they will feel exactly like before they found out they had type 1 diabetes. They could be feeling really tired and thirsty, or losing weight. Everything could look blurry or they could be weeing a lot.

If a person who has type 1 diabetes has too much insulin, they could get really sick too. Without enough insulin to unlock sugar for cells, the person with type 1 diabetes could be really hungry, dizzy, feeling tired, confused, or have a headache.


Is your friend with type 1 diabetes feeling sick? Watch out for them. Friends are a great part of life.

To make sure that they do not have too much or too little sugar in their blood, it is very important a person with type 1 diabetes needs to have their blood sugar levels regularly checked.


This is the machine that takes blood sugar levels. This machine is really important.

It is really important if you see your friend looking sick like we have just talked about, that you remind them about taking their blood sugar levels. If a type 1 diabetes kid is sick, they could really hurt themselves!

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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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