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Summary
Diabetes means your blood glucose, or blood sugar, levels are too high. With type 1 diabetes, your pancreas does not make insulin. Insulin is a hormone that helps glucose get into your cells to give them energy. Without insulin, too much glucose stays in your blood. Over time, high blood glucose can lead to serious problems with your heart, eyes, kidneys, nerves, and gums and teeth.
Type 1 diabetes happens most often in children and young adults but can appear at any age. Symptoms may include
- Being very thirsty
- Urinating often
- Feeling very hungry or tired
- Losing weight without trying
- Having sores that heal slowly
- Having dry, itchy skin
- Losing the feeling in your feet or having tingling in your feet
- Having blurry eyesight
A blood test can show if you have diabetes. If you do, you will need to take insulin for the rest of your life. A blood test called the A1C can check to see how well you are managing your diabetes.
NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Latest News
- Study Ties Inflammation, Gut Bacteria to Type 1 Diabetes (01/19/2017, HealthDay)
- Most Cow's Milk Baby Formulas Don't Up Risk of Type 1 Diabetes (01/19/2017, HealthDay)
- Common Virus May Have Ties to Type 1 Diabetes (01/10/2017, HealthDay)
Diagnosis and Tests
- A1C Test and Diabetes (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
- Diagnosis of Diabetes and Prediabetes (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
- Glucose Tests (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
- Microalbumin Test (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
Treatments and Therapies
- Diabetes Medicines: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
- Diabetes Mellitus Type 1: Insulin Treatment (Beyond the Basics) (UpToDate)
- Islet Cell Transplantation: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
- Pancreas Transplantation: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
Living With
- 4 Steps to Manage Your Diabetes for Life (National Diabetes Education Program) Also in Spanish
- Changing Your Habits: Steps to Better Health (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) - PDF
- Checking for Ketones (American Diabetes Association) Also in Spanish
- Getting the Very Best Care for Your Diabetes (American Diabetes Association) - PDF
- Healthy Coping (American Association of Diabetes Educators)
- How to Help a Loved One Cope with Diabetes (National Diabetes Education Program) Also in Spanish
- Living with Type 1 Diabetes (American Diabetes Association)
- Monitoring (American Association of Diabetes Educators)
- Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus and Diet (Beyond the Basics) (UpToDate)
- Your First Visit (to a Doctor) (American Diabetes Association)
- Your Health Care Team (American Diabetes Association) Also in Spanish
Related Issues
- Causes of Diabetes (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
- Diabetes and Celiac Disease (Gluten Intolerance Group) - PDF
- For People with Diabetes or High Blood Pressure: Get Checked for Kidney Disease (National Kidney Disease Education Program) Also in Spanish
- Monogenic Diabetes (Hormone Health Network) - PDF Also in Spanish
- Speak Up -- Diabetes: Five Ways to Be Active in Your Care at the Hospital (Joint Commission) - PDF Also in Spanish
- What People with Diabetes Need to Know about Osteoporosis (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases) Also in Spanish
- When You're Sick (American Diabetes Association) Also in Spanish
Genetics
- Genetics Home Reference: type 1 diabetes (National Library of Medicine)
- Genetics of Diabetes (American Diabetes Association) Also in Spanish
Videos and Tutorials
- Diabetes Movie (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation)
Statistics and Research
- Experimental Therapy Shows Promise for Type 1 Diabetes (National Institutes of Health)
- Major Long-Term Benefits of Intensive Therapy for Type 1 Diabetes (American Diabetes Association)
- National Diabetes Statistics Report, 2014 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDF Also in Spanish
- Patient Access to Research (American Diabetes Association)
- Recent Advances (in Diabetes Research) (American Diabetes Association)
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 (National Institutes of Health)
Journal ArticlesReferences and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: A randomised, open-labelstudy of insulin glargine or neutral protamine Hagedorn...
- Article: Sustained glycaemic control and less nocturnal hypoglycaemia with insulin glargine...
- Article: Islet cell transplantation improves nerve conduction velocity in type 1...
- Diabetes Type 1 -- see more articles
Find an Expert
- American Diabetes Association
- Find a Diabetes Educator (American Association of Diabetes Educators)
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Patient Handouts
- A1C test (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Diabetes - low blood sugar - self-care (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Diabetes - tests and checkups (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Diabetes - when you are sick (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Diabetes and exercise (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Diabetic ketoacidosis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Giving an insulin injection (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Type 1 diabetes (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish