Diagnosis of Diabetes

 

In 1769, John Buchan, a doctor living in Edinburgh, published a book called Domestic Medicine. This book was so popular that 100 editions were published over the next century throughout the western world. In 1830, Dr John Gunn of Knoxville, of Tennesee, published a book called Gunn's Domestic Medicine that also became popular, although not to the same extent. The important thing about these books is that they were written by doctors for the general public and described diseases, their causes, and their treatment, with details that had previously been considered the exclusive domain of the medical profession.

Both books have sections on diabetes. In Buchan, the section is entitled "Of the Diabetes, or excessive Discharge of Urine," and in Gunn's, "Great Flow of Urine." (The first sentence of the text is "This complaint is called by physicians diabetes.")

 

Symptoms

Both doctors viewed excessive urination together with sugar in the urine as the definition of diabetes:

Buchan:
The diabetes is a frequent and excessive discharge of urine....the urine generally exceeds in quantity all the liquid food which the patient takes. It is thin and pale, of a sweetish taste, and an agreeable smell.

Gunn:
The symptoms of diabetes are - larger and more frequent discharges of water from the bladder than common; the urine is clear and transparent as spring water: and having a sweetish and sickish taste, like sugar and water - accompanied by a faint smell, as if mixed with rosemary leaves... The quantity of water usually discharged in diabetes is more than double the portion of liquid taken in both food and drink.

 

Since these books were written for the general public, a considerable number of people presumably tasted and carefully smelled urine!

Follow the link to read a doctors’ joke about urine tasting.

 

Excessive thirst and rapid weight loss are described by both doctors, but more as conditions that develop as the disease progresses rather than symptoms in a diagnosis:

Buchan:
The patient has a continual thirst, with some degree of fever; his mouth is dry, and he spits frequently a frothy spittle. The strength fails, the appetite decays, and the flesh wastes away till the patient is reduced to skin and bone.

Gunn:
..nearly constant thirst, which it seems impossible to satisfy...the whole body becomes emaciated, and gradually wastes away...