Kid’s Corner
What is T1D?
If you have type 1 diabetes, also known as T1D, your body has trouble using sugar from the food you eat. Normally, your body turns food into sugar for energy with the help of insulin. But if you have T1D, your body doesn’t make enough insulin. This means that there can be too much sugar in your blood, which isn’t good for you.
What is it like to have T1D?
When you have T1D, you need to take insulin every day to stay healthy. You can get insulin into your body with a small needle or a pump that gives your body insulin through a tiny tube.
Insulin is a hormone, which is something your body makes to help it work properly. Insulin helps your body use the food you eat as energy. Without insulin, the sugar (carbohydrate) from the food you eat gets stuck in your blood, making your blood sugar too high.
Having T1D also means that you need to check your blood sugar levels several times a day, so you can be sure that you don’t have too much or too little sugar in your blood.
You can check your blood sugar with a device that uses a drop of blood from your finger or with a small monitor that you wear on your arm.
Taking insulin and checking your blood sugar levels throughout the day help you stay healthy and do all the things you love, like playing and spending time with friends!
