What is it like for siblings if their brother or sister has diabetes?

Siblings often get on really well with their brothers and sisters who have diabetes. However, they may feel left out because of all the extra attention which their brother or sister gets. They can feel that it’s unfair that their brother or sister gets to miss school because of hospital appointments and they don’t. It can also be difficult if siblings are allowed to eat different food to their brother or sister – they can feel guilty about this. Siblings may feel worried about what happens if their brothers and sisters’ blood sugar levels aren’t right and they have ‘hypos’, when their blood sugar is too low, or ‘hypers’, when their blood sugar is too high. These can be frightening to watch.

What causes diabetes?

People’s bodies normally make a chemical called insulin. This helps the body turn glucose into energy. When someone has diabetes, their body doesn’t make enough insulin or it doesn’t work very well. This means the body cannot use the glucose, so it stays in the blood.

How do you get diabetes?

Diabetes cannot be caught from somebody else. And it isn’t your fault if you get diabetes. Doctors aren’t sure what causes type 1 diabetes but lots of scientists are working to try and find this out. There are a few things that can cause people to have type 2 diabetes.

What does it mean?

People with diabetes may feel tired and very thirsty. They may also want to go to the toilet a lot – especially in the night. Diabetes can give them tingly feelings in their hands and feet and can also make their eyesight blurry.  People with type 1 diabetes do not produce any insulin. People with type 2 diabetes produce some insulin, but not enough, or sometimes what they produce doesn’t work very well.

What treatment is there?

For people with diabetes, it is important to have a healthy diet and get plenty of exercise. Everyone with type 1 diabetes will also need to have insulin either as injections or through a pump. Some people with type 2 will also need treatment with tablets and insulin injections. People with diabetes need to have hospital appointments to check they’re getting the right treatment to keep them healthy.

This information has been approved by Diabetes UK, November 2024