Telling if someone has diabetes by looking at them possible?
By suspenseful
@suspenseful (40193)
Canada
March 23, 2009 12:29pm CST
We were watching the old Mr. Kildaire movies last week on TCM and in one movie, Dr.. Gillespie was called as an expert witness for a case. and the judge asked him for proof. So Dr. Gillespie (he was the head of medicine in that show) told him that the judge had diabetes and the judge says he was correct, but kept it in control by diet and exercise.
So is this taking poetic license, can a doctor tell if you have type II diabetes just by looking at you? Like is there a certain facial structure, etc. because the judge had his robes on and was behind the desk, so the actor who played Dr. Gillespie could not see if he had a pot belly or not.
2 people like this
10 responses
@whiteheather39 (24403)
• United States
23 Mar 09
My great grandfather, my grandfather and two of my uncles were all opthamologists and could very often tell what kind of illness a person had by looking at their eyes.
I found a link which says "Proclaimed throughout the ages as "windows of the soul", the eyes are now acknowledged as mirrors of the body and likened to miniature television screens recording the condition of the various organs and tissues throughout the body.
http://sandycarter.com/iridologynow/
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
23 Mar 09
That does sound interesting. I thought it was poetic license or something like that , or one would have be very bad to have someone tell if he had diabetic or not and certainly he would be unable to control it by diet.
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
5 Apr 09
I heard about that. Did not believe it myself, but I guess if you are a doctor and have seen a lot of sick people, you can tell.
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
24 Mar 09
I figured it was something like that. I read in his post that sometimes they can tell by looking at a person's eyes. I know that when I had my eye exam, they could tell that I had cataracts, but she was an optometrist. I do not know if it refers to another type of doctor.
@KrauseHome (36448)
• United States
23 Mar 09
Personally there is no way I think that you can really tell a person is Diabetic just by looking at them unless they have on clothing or a certain skin feature or something that gives it away. Since most doctors out there are very inexperienced when it comes to Diabetes unless it is a Doctor who specializes in it, most people are often continuously misdiagnosed as well. It would be nice though if more doctors could be like this though.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
24 Mar 09
I guess it depends. I could not tell and even the idea that if you are obese and your stomach sticks out is not way. I have a friend who is obese, more then me, and has a tummy but she is only diabetic when she is pregnant and the rest of the time is not. Yet me who do not have a tummy just a little bump am because my father is and it runs in my family.
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
23 Mar 09
LOL! I just watched Young Doctor Kildare last week! I taped the whole series of movies and will watch another one tonight. I love Lionel Barrymore and have seen Lew Ayers before but didn't know he played the original Kildare. He's perfect for the part.
I don't know if you can tell if a person is diabetic by looking at them but I sure do love those old movies! I can't wait to complete the series. 
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
23 Mar 09
It was Dr. Kildaire day on TCM so we watched the whole series. Did not get that much myLotting done that day, but I did read somewhere that you can get a general idea of a person's health by looking at their eyes but nothing specific.
@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
23 Mar 09
Someone once told me that they knew if a person had diabetes by looking in the eyes. I don't know if this is true. with my husband the doctor smelt his breath and knew immediately as his breath was smelling sweet.
As a young teenager I used to adore Dr. Kildare and never went out on the night he was on tv! Isn't life strange at times. I honestly do not know if the eyes thing is true or not. One Love
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
24 Mar 09
I more of believe that smelling a person's breath that it is sweet would be a better way then looking at their stomach and pressing them with a needle to draw some blood to see that they are diabetic. But I guess by that time, the diabetes would have been advanced far along.
@jazemind (52)
• Canada
23 Mar 09
The area of holistic medicine that studies the eye is known as Irridology. This is usually done by looking very closely into the eye, not just by casual glances across the room. For example a discolouration in the iris can indicate an illness based on where it is, how large it is, what colour it is etcetera.
I cannot think of any physical traits that can diagnose diabetes. Being overweight can be a lifestyle factor in the disease but not all overweight people are diabetic. In answer to your question - I dunno! lol
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
24 Mar 09
I figure you have to stare right in the eyes. Like when my optometrist was examining my eyes, she had to use a magnifying instrument, and have me look this way and that. And what happens if you have brown eyes? With blue eyes, and light colored eyes, it is a bit easier. You can see differences, but with brown eyes, well they are all brown.
@Jellen (1852)
• United States
25 Mar 09
If the person is missing fingers or toes or is a jaundice looking in color, I would suspect diabetes. If the person has a fairly huge fatty deposit on the upper back behind the neck area, I would suspect diabetes. And the jaundice color could be a result of damaged kidneys...possibly even on dialysis. The extended and hanging large belly--when other features are not so large--would suggest possible diabetes too.
@Adoniah (7513)
• United States
24 Mar 09
You can tell by their breath and skin odor. If they have a fruity smell about them they most likely have diabetes. The smell can be very strong sometimes. I could always tell when my brother and my husbands sugar was out of wack by the way they smelled.
Shalom~Adoniah
@mariposaman (2959)
• Canada
25 Mar 09
Yes they do have a strange fruity like odour when they are diabetic. I notice certain of the native population around here have a peculiar barrel shaped body and thin arms and legs and suspect it might be fat deposits around the abdomen. My neigbour who is not native is diabetic and under control but he has that same body type. He has been diabetic all his life.
When they put my mother on predisone she developed diabetes as a side effect and she had that smell until they diagnosed the diabetes.
@suzzy3 (8342)
•
25 Mar 09
Blood test have to be taken to be sure,but a good doctor could possibly have an educated guess ,but my friends son lost weight,really thirsty all the time,tired,and very ratty not very well indeed and he had diabetis,type two the normal thing is being overweight which can in some cases be controlled by diet.A doctor is trained to notice the signs but I would personally have a blood test myself to see what type it was, to be sure.xxx
