Type 1 Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes occurs when a person’s pancreas stops producing insulin, a hormone that enables people to get energy from food. Type 1 diabetes usually strikes in childhood, although it can also affect adults. It lasts a lifetime and requires multiple daily injections of insulin and finger-prick blood glucose monitoring. A person with type 1 diabetes must constantly try to balance insulin and food intake to avoid hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar) and hyperglycaemia (high blood sugar), both of which can be life threatening.