Diabetická čítanka – Vávrová Helena (2025)

Type 1 diabetes mellitus is a complex metabolic disease. It primarily affects children and adolescents, the number of whom is increasing every year. When the disease affects young children, their world comes to a halt. The child feels betrayed by an illness they do not understand. They are scared. They do not know what will happen, fearing it is a punishment for something they did wrong. When the disease affects older children, especially those in puberty, they rebel against the illness that takes away their dreamed freedom. Children with diabetes are given a metaphorical key – insulin, which we (euphemistically) teach them to use to unlock their cells. Even though the diagnosis of the disease has improved, we have new types of insulin, new application technologies including insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitoring sensors, it is still not enough. It is necessary to restore hope and faith to children that their childhood world will be the same as before. For that, they need help primarily from those who care for them – parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, teachers, and practically the entire society. Only in this way can we ensure children a happy childhood and very good metabolic control that will allow them to enter the adult world without diabetic complications. Knowledge and skills for managing diabetes are the fundamental pillars of successful disease control.