Pediatric Diabetes
Program

Type 1 diabetes occurs when your child’s pancreas cannot make a sufficient amount of insulin. Insulin is a crucial part of your child’s body and aids energy creation from simple sugars. The disease requires a lifelong commitment to glucose level management. Insulin injections will be required to help your child’s body in producing energy to function. While there is no direct cause for type 1 diabetes, genetics does play a role in a person’s susceptibility to the condition. Type 1 diabetes is currently incurable, but is extremely manageable with self-care and expert guidance from the pediatric diabetes team at Orlando Health Children's Arnold Palmer Hospital.

Type 2 diabetes is caused when your body doesn’t make enough insulin or process it well. Over time, your child’s body develops insulin resistance, causing blood sugar to rise to unhealthy levels. Type 2 diabetes is often diagnosed in overweight and inactive patients. Lifestyle changes, such as healthy eating and staying active, can begin the pathway to defeating type 2 diabetes. However, in more extreme cases, oral medication and insulin injections may also be required.