Chelmsford and District Diabetic Youth

21/06/2026

Happy Father’s Day to all the amazing dads in our T1D community 💙

From late-night checks to everyday strength, you show up in ways that truly matter. Your care, patience, and love make a difference every single day.

We see you, and we appreciate you.

11/06/2026

Whilst it's torrential rain outside, why not get summer ready?!

Do you know that insulin can go off in extreme heat?

To maintain safe temperatures for insulin during extreme heat, car travel, school/work, days out and while traveling we would recommend using insulated travel cases or cooling wallets to protect cartridges, vials and insulin pens from heat.

Frio UK kindly offer members of the CaDDY group a 10% discount on their website. Now's the perfect time to purchase one of their wonderful insulated travel cases in readiness for the summer we are patiently waiting for! Frio's leaflet is included in our Welcome Pack to new members.

To take advantage of this offer, use discount code CADDY10 when checking out!

09/06/2026

The unpredictability of summer levels will soon be upon us. Type 1 diabetes has a habit of making us question all our decisions over these next few months!

Make sure to check BG levels more frequently and always carry hypo treatment. It's also really important to keep hydrated, especially if you use a CGM, as CGM's can become inaccurate if dehydrated.

⬇️Hot weather can increase the risk of hypos as the body's metabolism is higher in hot weather so the insulin absorption can be increased.

It's important to not mix up hypo symptoms with heat exhaustion - they can often look and feel the same.

Symptoms of both scenarios can include:
🥵 sweating
🫨 shakiness
😵‍💫 feeling dizzy
🥱 lethargy
😵 blurred vision
😋 feeling hungry
😡 feeling irratable

⬆️ There's a flip side though...some type 1's experience HIGH blood glucose levels. Heat can spike BG levels if we are dehydrated. If we are dehydrated, blood glucose becomes more concentrated due to the decrease in blood flow through the kidneys - this makes it difficult for the kidneys to remove any excess glucose from urine. You'll see a lot of the same comments from people in the forums at this time of year - "it's like the insulin has turned to water and having no impact on getting his/her levels down".

😎 The answer....drink more water, keep in the shade, test BG levels more often and don't put so much pressure on yourselves. Type 1 is unpredictable and sometimes just doesn't want to play ball!

❓How does your/your child's levels usually react to hot weather?

20/05/2026

With the holiday season fast approaching, people may be anxious about travelling or having days out.

The Hidden Disabilities Sunflower is a great initiative to voluntarily share that you have a disability or condition that may not be immediately apparent.

Businesses all around the world have joined the global Sunflower network to support you when you wear the Sunflower - anywhere you choose to be discreetly seen.

You can find out which airports and airlines have joined the Sunflower Hidden Disabilities scheme by clicking on this link ⬇️

The Sunflower was designed to allow passengers to choose to indicate they have an invisible disability to have the confidence to travel independently, knowing that they get support, assistance or a li

14/05/2026

Mental Health Awareness Week 2026
Diabetes (of all types) can be overwhelming for people living with it as well as their carers. What’s something you do to take care of your mental health?

14/05/2026

Amazing! Thank you to all the wonderful people still supporting us through .

I'm well aware that it might feel like the odd penny on Amazon doesn't seem like much so maybe you don't think it's worth it but this ⬇️ shows that it all adds up!

Help us when you shop with 7,000+ brands. Join now.

14/05/2026

Following on from our posts a couple of days ago (re a petition for T1D to be added to training for anybody working with children), this is the poster that one of our talented parents designed for us 4 years ago.

We sent it by email to ALL primary and secondary schools in Mid Essex asking for it to be put up in their staff rooms.

If you work in a nursery setting or school, please can we ask that you print this poster to display for staff awareness and share with colleagues.

It's the difference between early and late diagnosis and could avoid a child developing DKA.

13/05/2026

Have you ever wanted to help but don't have much spare time? Keep reading to find out what you can do!

13/05/2026

Don't let this be another vital support group to finish. They need some young adults to get involved to maintain the wonderful support they have provided to people and to keep this group moving forwards.

After 50 years in Chelmsford, it would be such a shame for this local support group to come to an end. Since getting to know the committee members over the last 6 or so years, they have always campaigned for the best care for their members and local community. And what a superb job they have done too.

I was talking just this morning at my clinic appointment about the amazing fundraising and campaigns they did in the late 90's fundraising to build Thomas Willet House (The Diabetes Centre at the hospital) which was tragically pulled down as part of the new hospital works shortly afterwards - a complete waste of well-earned fundraised and donated money 😢

Please contact Malcom or Christine on the details in their post if you can get involved. CaDDY have worked closely with them over the years making sure we are supporting all age groups across the county. It would be such a shame to see them go.

13/05/2026

This is a really useful video from the Mid and South Essex Eye Screening Programme.

Eye screening is offered to children aged 12+ at various locations across Essex.

This video shows you what to expect when you attend your diabetic eye screening appointment.Special thanks to Moorfields Eye Hospital For mo...