Because your child’s pancreas does not produce any insulin(or not enough), it has to be injected. But what is it?

Insulin is a type of hormone (a chemical messenger) that is produced by the pancreas.

Your child’s insulin

The vast majority of children use ‘human’ insulin, but it isn’t made from humans. It is genetically engineered so it is identical to human insulin. Some people use animal insulin, which is made from the pancreas of cows or pigs. Before human insulin was developed, these were the only types of insulin available. It is unlikely that your child will be started on this type of insulin, though it is still available.

There are also different types of insulin:

Rapid-acting analogue*

• injected immediately before a meal
• peak action is at around two hours post injection
• lasts for around four hours.

Short-acting

• injected approximately 15–45 minutes before a meal
• peak action is at around 2–4 hours post injection
• lasts for around 6–8 hours.

Medium/long-acting

• injected once or twice a day
• peak action up to 12 hours post injection
• lasts around 20–24 hours.

Long-acting analogue

• injected once or twice a day (at the same time each day)
• lasts around 24 hours (no peak, these insulins stay at the same concentration).

Mixed

• A mixture of rapid-acting analogue or short-acting insulin and medium/long- acting insulin.
• Usually injected before breakfast and dinner.
• Peak action 2–8 hours.

*Analogue insulins are insulins whose chemical structure has been changed to make them act more quickly or more slowly than regular human insulin.