Another thread about the public’s perception of people with diabetes – bizarre comments made on the appearance or otherwise of ‘diabetics’ and whether we have a distinctive aroma or not! Many respondents to the thread were being kind, I think, when it was suggested that perhaps Joe Public was referring to the smell caused by excess ketones – a smell similar to pear drops and nail polish remover because of its acetone base. Of course, we don’t all go walking around emitting ketones with every breath, except maybe in the unusual circumstances of pre-diagnosis or during bouts of illness when blood sugar levels may be difficult to control.
There is, of course, something about a person with diabetes who is close to, or suffering from, a hypoglycaemic attack that can be picked up on by certain animals, but I doubt this is what Joe Public is referring to. And what are we supposed to look like? Horns? Fluffy pink feathers? A large ‘D’ for Diabetic tattooed on our foreheads? The thought of our apparent distinctiveness led me to write a poem on the topic – once again the forum proved to be my muse!
This isn’t something I had ever come across in my pre-diabetic days. Indeed, I only learned that a close work colleague and friend of mine had been Type 1 as long as I had known him after my own diagnosis, when he offered to help with information and advice. Clearly, he disguised his diabetic features expertly!
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