Diabetes is a disease that affects the way your child’s body processes sugar (glucose) for fuel. Without treatment, the disorder causes sugar to build up in the bloodstream, which can lead to serious long-term consequences.

Type 1 diabetes in children is a condition in which your child's body no longer produces an important hormone (insulin). Your child needs insulin to survive, so the missing insulin needs to be replaced with injections or with an insulin pump. Type 1 diabetes in children used to be known as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes.

There's no cure for type 1 diabetes in children, but it can be managed. Advances in blood sugar monitoring and insulin delivery have improved blood sugar management and quality of life for children with type 1 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes occurs more commonly in adults. In fact, it used to be called adult-onset diabetes. But the increasing number of children with obesity has led to more cases of type 2 diabetes in younger people.

There's plenty you can do to help manage or prevent type 2 diabetes in your child. Encourage your child to eat healthy foods, get plenty of physical activity and maintain a healthy weight. If healthy eating and exercise aren't enough to control type 2 diabetes, oral medication or insulin treatment may be needed.

Symptoms

The signs and symptoms of type 1 diabetes in children usually develop quickly, and may include:

• Increased thirst
• Frequent urination, possibly bed-wetting in a toilet-trained child
• Extreme hunger
• Unintentional weight loss
• Fatigue