The kidneys have to make so much urine to clear out the excess glucose that his body tends to get ‘dried out’. This makes him feel thirsty, and he has to drink a lot to make up for all the extra urine he has passed. This illness is due to insufficient insulin. Fortunately we can give insulin to make up for this lack.

Children with diabetes stop being sick from diabetes by having insulin injections

We cannot give insulin by mouth as a pill or as a medicine – it would be destroyed by the stomach juices. We have to give it by injection. Insulin is injected into the fatty layer just beneath the skin and when done properly this should not hurt much. By measuring the correct dose of insulin each day, and balancing this with the food that is eaten, we can replace the insulin that should have been made by the body. This way the body tissues and cells use glucose normally again. Thus the child recovers from the initial illness and keeps healthy.

Children with diabetes keep well by having a diet

Naturally if the child has a certain regular amount of insulin by injection each day, he must also have a regular amount of sugar from food to balance it. If he ate too much sugar or starch foods there would not be enough insulin to balance it. The sugar would build up in the blood, just as it did when diabetes first developed. The diabetes would thus go out of good control. If he did not eat enough sugar or starch foods there would be too much insulin for the sugar. Glucose would be taken out of the blood without being replaced from food. This means he would run out of sugar in the blood because of the action of the insulin – we call this an ‘insulin reaction’ or ‘hypo’ (hypo means low) and the full medical term is ‘hypoglycemia’. This makes him feel and act funnily because he needs some sugar in the blood at all times. He avoids this by keeping the food he eats regular in amount each day, and this is what we mean by ‘being on a diet’.

Being on a diet is not just avoiding certain sorts of food. It also means eating adequate food for good health and having the right foods to make him grow and feel well and active.

The diet is intended to give the child plenty to eat, but not too much. The dietitian and doctor decide on the best diet when they know what foods he likes and how hungry he gets as well as knowing what he needs for good health.

Remember: Diet means the best foods in regular amounts.

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