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The Double "Q" Foundation would like to encourage you to learn more about diabetes, treatment and management of the disease, and some of the risk factors associated with the disease. The following information is provided by The American Diabetes Association. You can learn more about "ADA" and diabetes by clicking on the topics listed above or visiting www.diabetes.org.
Diabetes is a disease that impairs the body's ability to use food. The hormone insulin, which is made in the pancreas, helps the body to change food into energy. In people with diabetes, either the pancreas doesn't make insulin or the body cannot use insulin properly. Without insulin, sugar - the body's main energy source - builds up in the blood.
Children with diabetes usually have type 1 diabetes, in which the pancreas doesn't make insulin. They need daily insulin shots to help their bodies to use food.
Type 1 diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases in children. Nearly one child out of every 400 develops it. Diabetes can run in families, and researchers are still studying how and why it happens.
Although diabetes cannot be cured, it can be treated. With family support, daily care and treatment, your child with diabetes can lead a healthy, active, and fun-filled life.
The goals of diabetes treatment for children are:
Keeping blood sugar levels in a target range means balancing insulin, food, and exercise. Remember: Food raises blood sugar levels, while insulin and exercise lower them.
A good diabetes treatment plan includes:
Ideas about how to treat diabetes have changed a lot in recent years. Diabetes treatment plans are more flexible than they used to be. Treatment is geared to the needs of the individual child and his or her family.