A person who doesn’t have diabetes can digest and use foods containing carbohydrates easily. Their body converts carbohydrates into glucose, which is absorbed into the bloodstream. The hormone, insulin, helps move the glucose into the cells where it is used for energy.

When you have diabetes, your body can’t use the glucose in your blood properly. This means your blood glucose levels get too high and make you feel poorly.

What is Type 1 diabetes?

People with Type 1 diabetes are unable to produce insulin. Without insulin your body can’t process the glucose from the food you eat. If you have Type 1 diabetes, insulin has to be injected or administered by a pump into your body to lower your glucose level. This works by moving sugar from your blood into your body cells.

What is Type 2 diabetes?

Type 2 diabetes develops when the body can still make some insulin, but not enough, or when the insulin that is produced does not work properly (known as insulin resistance). Type 2 diabetes occurs more often amongst people over 40, although it is becoming more and more common in younger people. Type 2 diabetes is commonly linked with being overweight, although certain ethnic groups such as South Asian and African-Caribbean people may be more likely to develop it.

If you and your child want to find out more about living with diabetes, you’ve come to the right place.

Register

Tell us who you are and, when you register your child’s Bayer meter, we’ll send your child a thank you gift! They can choose either a pink or blue CONTOUR meter wallet. As part of our Around U programme, you and your child will have access to free of charge support materials and useful information.