Diabetes mellitus, also known as “diabetes”, is a disease which causes elevated blood sugar (glucose) levels. There are several types of diabetes: Type 1 and 2 are the most common types among children.
The number of cases of diabetes is increasing annually and the disease occurs more and more at a younger age. In the Netherlands, up to the age of fifteen, there are approximately 5000 children with diabetes and up to the age of 18 about 8000 children. Every year about 500 children are newly diagnosed with diabetes.
You cannot inherit diabetes from your parents directly, you can only inherit the predisposition for it. Whether you get diabetes Type 2 or not depends, partially, on your lifestyle and nutritional habits. What causes diabetes Type 1 is less known.
With diabetes mellitus Type 1, your body does not produce insulin anymore. Because of this, the glucose (sugar) in your blood cannot be absorbed by your body’s cells, which causes the glucose level in your blood to become too high. In other words, the glucose (sugar) stays in your blood and is not transported into the cells. That means the cells in your body do not get enough energy. This type of diabetes can occur at any age, but often Type 1 starts at a young age.
With diabetes Type 2 , your body still produces insulin, but not enough. Or sometimes the insulin just does not function properly. In that case, too much glucose remains in your blood and too little glucose is absorbed by the body cells. Diabetes Type 2 occurs at any age, but especially with the elderly and people who are overweight. Since more and more children are overweight, this type of diabetes occurs at a younger age more and more.
Symptoms of a glucose level that is too high (hyper) are: having to pee a lot, being thirsty, and having a dry tongue and drinking a lot. Because your body does not get enough energy, you feel tired and you can get skinny even though you eat enough.
When you are diagnosed with diabetes mellitus, you need to get insulin from a different source. That needs to happen a few times per day, always after the glucose level (blood sugar) has been determined. That is how you know the correct doses of insulin to avoid a glucose level that is too high (hyper) or too low (hypo).
Treatment is very important because high blood sugar can eventually cause damage to the blood vessels and nerve system. In the long run, it could cause cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, eye disease, poor healing of wounds and sensitivity disorder.
Here is an overview of the 10 most asked questions from the Frequently Asked Question section (FAQ):
