What is diabetes

There are two main types of diabetes, type one and Type two, they're different conditions, but they're both serious.

There are some other rarer types of diabetes, too. What all types of diabetes have in common is that they cause people to have too much glucose in their blood. But we all need some glucose. It's what gives us our energy. We get Dlugosz when our bodies break down the carbohydrates that we eat or drink, and that glucose is released into our blood. We also need a hormone called insulin. It's made by our pancreas and it's insulin that allows the glucose in our blood to enter our cells and fuel our bodies. If you don't have diabetes, your pancreas senses when glucose is entered your bloodstream and releases the right amount of insulin. So the glucose can get into your cells. But if you have diabetes, this system doesn't work when you've got type one diabetes. You can't make any insulin at all. If you've got type two diabetes, it's a bit different. The insulin you make either can't work effectively or you can't produce enough of it. In both types of diabetes, because glucose can't get into your cells, it begins to build up in your blood and too much glucose in your blood. Causes a lot of different problems to begin with. It leads to diabetes symptoms like having to a lot. Being incredibly thirsty. I'm feeling very tired. You may also lose weight, get infections like thrush or suffer from slow healing wounds. Over a long period of time, high glucose levels in your blood. Can seriously damage your heart, your eyes, your feet and your kidneys. These are known as the complications of diabetes. But with the right treatment and care, people can live a healthy life. And there's much less risk that someone will experience these complications. If you've got diabetes, you can find lots of information and support about living with it, using our website and help line. As well as campaigning for everyone with diabetes to get the right care. Diabetes UK fund research into all types of diabetes. So we can develop new treatments. And one day find a cure.