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Diabetes Center for Kids

  • Sports, Exercise, and Diabetes

    Like anyone else, kids with diabetes can enjoy sports. Whether you want to go for the gold or just go hiking in your hometown, your diabetes won't hold you back.

  • When Blood Sugar Is Too Low

    Hypoglycemia is the medical word for low blood sugar level. It needs to be treated right away. Learn more about what to do when blood sugar is too low in this article for kids.

  • What Are Beta Cells?

    Beta cells make insulin, a hormone that controls the level of glucose (a type of sugar) in the blood.

  • What Are Blood Glucose Levels?

    Blood glucose level is the amount of glucose in the blood.

  • What Are Carbohydrates?

    Like proteins and fats, carbohydrates are one of the three main components of food.

  • What Are Certified Diabetes Educators (CDEs)?

    Do you need someone to help you understand diabetes? Try a certified diabetes educator.

  • What Are Fats?

    Like carbohydrates and proteins, fats are one of the three main components of the food you eat.

  • What Are Fatty Acids?

    Like gas for a car, glucose is fuel for your cells. But if glucose isn't available, fatty acids may be used instead.

  • What Are Insulin Injections?

    Insulin is an important hormone that keeps the body working. If the body doesn't make enough of this substance, a person may need to get insulin injections.

  • What Are Islet Cells?

    The pancreas contains clusters of cells that make hormones. These clusters are known as islets.

  • What Are Ketones?

    When fat is broken down, chemicals called ketones are made.

  • What Are Kidneys?

    The kidneys are a pair of organs that filter waste materials out of the blood.

  • What Does Autoimmunity Mean?

    Your immune system fights infections and illnesses. But sometimes the immune system makes a mistake and attacks part of the body. This is called autoimmunity.

  • What Is a Glycosylated Hemoglobin Test (Hemoglobin A1c)?

    This blood test can tell someone with diabetes if his or her diabetes is under control or out of control.

  • What Is Carbohydrate Counting?

    Many people with diabetes count their carbohydrates to keep track of how much they're eating.

  • What Is Hyperglycemia

    Glucose (a type of sugar) is the body's main energy source. Hyperglycemia occurs when the levels get too high.

  • What Is Hypoglycemia?

    Glucose (a type of sugar) is the body's main energy source. Hypoglycemia occurs when the levels get too low.

  • What Is Ketoacidosis?

    Ketoacidosis is a condition that can happen to people with diabetes when the body uses fat instead of glucose for fuel.

  • What Is Nephropathy?

    Kidney disease caused by diabetes is called diabetic nephropathy.

  • What Is Neuropathy?

    Neuropathy is the medical word for disease of the nervous system.

  • What Is Polydipsia?

    If diabetes isn't under control, a person might be really thirsty and drink a lot of fluids. Polydipsia is the medical word for this.

  • What Is Polyphagia?

    Polyphagia is the medical word for eating very large amounts of food.

  • What Is Polyuria?

    Someone who has uncontrolled diabetes may pee a lot. Polyuria is the medical word for this.

  • What Is Retinopathy?

    Retinopathy is the medical word for disease of the retina.

  • What Is the Glycemic Index?

    The body breaks down most carbohydrates from the foods we eat and changes them to a type of sugar called glucose. The glycemic index is a way of measuring how fast this happens and how a food affects blood glucose levels.

  • What's a Blood Glucose Meter?

    A blood glucose meter is a small, portable machine that's used to check how much glucose (a type of sugar) is in the blood (also known as the blood glucose level).

  • What's a Bolus?

    For someone with diabetes, a bolus means a single, large dose of insulin taken to handle a rise in blood glucose (a type of sugar).

  • What's a Pediatric Endocrinologist?

    This type of doctor deals with hormones, those special chemical substances that make things happen all over the body (especially during puberty).

  • What's a Urinalysis?

    Here's why doctors sometimes have kids pee in a cup.

  • What's an Exchange Meal Plan?

    People who have diabetes need to pay attention to what they're eating. The exchange meal plan can help them do that.

  • What's an Insulin Pump?

    A person needs the hormone insulin so the body can function properly. If the body doesn't make enough insulin, one way to get it is through an insulin pump.

  • What's Diabetes?

    When someone has diabetes, their body doesn't use glucose properly.

  • What's Glucagon?

    Glucagon is a hormone that raises the level of glucose (a type of sugar) in the blood.

  • What's Glucose?

    When you eat, your body turns the food into a sugar called glucose. Like gas for a car, glucose provides fuel for your cells.

  • What's Glycogen?

    When the body has extra glucose, it stores it in the liver and muscles. This stored form of glucose is called glycogen.

  • What's Insulin Resistance?

    Even though the pancreas is still making insulin, the body doesn't let insulin do its job as well and it's harder for glucose to get into the cells. This is called insulin resistance.

  • What's Insulin?

    If someone has diabetes, they have trouble with a hormone called insulin.

  • What's the Pancreas?

    The pancreas is a long, flat gland in your belly.

What next?

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