Type 1 treatment and technology for children

When your child is newly diagnosed they will usually use an insulin pen to inject insulin and a blood glucose meter, a continuous glucose monitor or flash sensor to monitor their glucose levels.

As you continue your journey with type 1, you may want to move on to other technologies that can make life with type 1 easier. Take things at your own pace and remember, you don’t have to learn everything about type 1 all at once.

Speak to your Diabetes Healthcare Team about moving on to different devices and technologies.

Insulin

Insulin is a hormone that helps our bodies convert glucose (sugar) into energy. It stops the amount of glucose in the blood going too high.

When someone has type 1, the beta cells in their pancreas no longer produce insulin. So they have to put it in their bodies themselves.

There are two main types of insulin – long-acting and fast-acting. Most newly diagnosed children use both of these to start with:

• Long-acting insulin is usually taken in the mornings and releases slowly over 24 hours. This is also known as called basal insulin
• Short-acting insulin is taken at mealtimes to manage blood sugar around carbohydrates. It is taken to bring down high glucose levels. It’s also known as bolus, mealtime or prandial insulin

Find out more about insulin.

Insulin pen injections

There are two main types of insulin pens; reusable pens, where you replace a cartridge in the pen when the insulin runs out, or pre-filled disposable pens, where you simply use a whole a new pen when the old one runs out.

Children and adolescents will use a 4mm pen needle regardless of age, gender or body mass index (BMI).

Find out more about using pens to inject insulin.

Smart insulin pens

Smart insulin pens are the same as regular insulin pens except that they connect to an app. This allows you to record how much insulin your child has taken and when.

Smart insulin pens are available on prescription in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. You just need to ask your Diabetes Healthcare Team for a prescription which can be put onto a repeat prescription by your GP.

Find out more about smart insulin pens.

Blood glucose meters

A blood glucose meter is a small device that checks the amount of glucose in the blood.

There are three components to a blood glucose meter – the meter itself, blood test strips, and a lancet to prick your child’s finger.

Your child will have been given a blood glucose meter when they were diagnosed.

Find out more about how to use them and how to get the most accurate readings.

Continuous glucose monitoring

A continuous glucose monitor, or CGM, is a small wearable device that measures glucose levels in real-time.

It uses a sensor and transmitter to continuously send information about your child’s glucose levels to a handset or compatible mobile phone. On some CGMs, you can also access this data on a cloud-based platform, allowing you to check your child’s glucose levels even when you’re not with them. You can also share this data with your Diabetes Healthcare Team, teachers and carers.

A CGM shows you:

• your child’s current glucose levels
• a trend arrow that shows whether their glucose is heading up, down or is stable
• alerts and alarms which signal when their glucose has gone too high or too low
• graphs to help you see where things are going well and work out where things could be better

There are two kinds of insulin pumps; patch or micro pumps, which stick directly onto the skin, and tethered pumps, which attach through a cannula or tube.

One of the advantages of using an insulin pump with young children is that they can give more precise doses that smaller bodies sometimes need.

However, different types of insulin pumps are designed to be used for children of different ages. Some are for children aged two and up, some are for older children.

Find out more about how insulin pumps work, the different types, and the pros and cons of using one.

Find out how to get an insulin pump on the NHS.

Hybrid closed loop technology

A hybrid closed loop (HCL) system, also known as the artificial pancreas, takes readings from a continuous glucose monitor and uses an algorithm to tell a pump how much insulin to deliver. It does this 24 hours a day.