Updated November 2025
World Diabetes Day on November 14th this year aims to raise awareness that:
- Diabetes can affect people at every stage of life;
- From childhood to older age, diabetes prevention and care efforts must be integrated across life stages;
- Supporting well-being and self-care empowers people with diabetes at every age.
Diabetes in the UK
Diabetes affects 4.3 million people in the UK who live with the condition. Diabetes is relatively common now and irrespective of the type of diabetes it is all about how much sugar is in the casualty’s blood. World Diabetes Day helps to give some focus to this disease and raise awareness of it.
- One in every two people with diabetes is undiagnosed. Early diagnosis and treatment is key to helping prevent or delay life-changing and/or life-threatening complications.
- If Type 1 diabetes is not detected early, it can lead to serious disability or death. Know the signs and symptoms to protect yourself and your family.
What is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a condition where your body cannot control the amount of blood sugar in your system. There are two main types of diabetes, called Type 1 and Type 2. Other types exist but are rare.
Type 1 diabetes – about 10% of diabetics have type 1 diabetes and its is where your blood sugar is too high because your body can’t make a hormone called insulin. There is nothing you can do to prevent yourself or others developing type 1 diabetes. The exact causes are not known although research is always ongoing. Symptoms include tiredness, going the the toilet more often, being tired and getting thinner without trying to lose weight.
Type 2 Diabetes – is the most common type. It also results in high blood sugar levels due to your body not making insulin, or what it makes not working properly. Treatment includes eating well and moving more and possibly medication. Type 2 diabetes but it mostly affects people over 25 often with a family history. It is not just people who are overweight or obese. Other risk factors include ethnicity. Symptoms are similar to the symptoms listed above for Type 1 but also blurred vision, genital itching and wounds or cuts taking longer to heal.
Are you at risk of Type 2 diabetes?
You can do a quick check to see if you’re at risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes with this link from Diabetes UK.
Many people have diabetes but do not know it. The charity Diabetes UK are undergoing a research programme, which you can get involved with. The Type 1 Diabetes Risk in Adults (T1DRA) study is recruiting 20,000 adults, aged between 18 and 70, to find those who are likely to develop Type 1 diabetes in the future. You can find out more about the study and see if you’re eligible to sign up via this link.
Why should first aiders know more about diabetes?
People with diabetes who have injuries requiring your first aid skills will often present with other symptoms. If you know you have a diabetic casualty and need to call an ambulance, always tell them that your casualty has diabetes. Read more on how to help someone with diabetes in our detailed First Aid for Diabetes blog.
You can find out more about diabetes and how you can help others by understanding more about the condition on the Diabetes UK website. They have great resources and up to date information on research, diet, lifestyle and technological advances – plus real stories from people who manage their diabetes well.
Be diabetes aware – get first aid trained
Knowing how to spot the symptoms and what to do if something happens is essential in diabetes. Attending a first aid course will give you the knowledge to deal with many emergency incidents. Our courses are structured to give you confidence in dealing with an incident as well as the competence to do good quality first aid.Â
Find out more about our full range of courses here.
Everyone on our courses receives a FREE digital first aid manual. We have a range of manuals relevant to the courses we teach – Sports, Outdoor, First Aid at Work, Paediatric and Equestrian. They are a great resource that you can download onto your phone or other device and have all that first aid knowledge at your fingertips. You can view and buy the Manuals for less than £5 here.
