# “People with diabetes shouldn’t inject insulin publicly!” **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 10, 2005, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-diabetes-shouldn-t-inject-insulin-publicly/303240 "2005-05-10T16:45:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![beckwall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b487fb/32.png) [@beckwall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beckwall)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-diabetes-shouldn-t-inject-insulin-publicly/303240/241 "2005-05-12T01:47:38Z")
Just felt like adding a few words, please look away if you are disgusted. I was a dialysis charge RN for 10 years, currently a dialysis tech instructor who wrote the school curriculum (including the unit on diabetes) and a home health nurse. I have seen what untreated and poorly managed diabetes will do to the human body. Amputations and blindness are only the beginning of the story. And yes, I have had a toe fall off into my hand while I was visiting a patient with gangrene (she was well enough to live at home AND go out to eat, imagine that). Maybe this thread will encourage people to become educated about diseases and their treatment options. Someday we’ll all be sick one way or another, maybe now is a good time to develop some empathy for others’ suffering before it hits close to home. ---
**Author:** ![milroyj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@milroyj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/milroyj)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-diabetes-shouldn-t-inject-insulin-publicly/303240/242 "2005-05-12T03:03:03Z")
> [@Hentor the Barbarian](#): > > For us, we do my son’s injections in his bicep when we are out (it seems like less of a production than taking his pants down to get at his thigh or having him stand up and bend over to get a little roll on his tummy), unless he has shorts on. Really? I’m surprised. From your posts, it seems like disrobing your child in a restaurant would be perfectly acceptable to you. Or do you just save that particular performance for special occasions, say birthday parties, 1st communions, and Christmas? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-diabetes-shouldn-t-inject-insulin-publicly/303240/243 "2005-05-12T03:08:42Z")
> [@milroyj](#): > > Really? I’m surprised. From your posts, it seems like disrobing your child in a restaurant would be perfectly acceptable to you. Or do you just save that particular performance for special occasions, say birthday parties, 1st communions, and Christmas? :dubious: That’s just fucking offensive. ---
**Author:** ![milroyj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@milroyj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/milroyj)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-diabetes-shouldn-t-inject-insulin-publicly/303240/244 "2005-05-12T03:10:36Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > That’s just fucking offensive. How? ---
**Author:** ![milroyj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@milroyj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/milroyj)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-diabetes-shouldn-t-inject-insulin-publicly/303240/245 "2005-05-12T03:59:56Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > That’s just fucking offensive. FTR, some posters with diabetes have posted that they never inject in public; others have posted that they do, but discreetly, so that other people are unaware of it. Not **Hentor** , though. Oh no. From his own words, we have laying kits out on the table, needles, pricking, injecting, bloody napkins, the whole nine yards. And he doesn’t think he should have to make an effort to be discreet about it. After all, it’s all about HIS child. No thanks to that attitude. Hentor is free to whatever he wants, of course, but I am equally free to think he’s rude for doing so. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-diabetes-shouldn-t-inject-insulin-publicly/303240/246 "2005-05-12T04:09:16Z")
> [@milroyj](#): > > Really? I’m surprised. From your posts, it seems like disrobing your child in a restaurant would be perfectly acceptable to you. Or do you just save that particular performance for special occasions, say birthday parties, 1st communions, and Christmas? :dubious: Is this supposed to be witty? Funny? Clever? I don’t get any of that from it. It merely seems hateful and desperate. Suddenly, I feel quite sad for you. ---
**Author:** ![milroyj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@milroyj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/milroyj)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-diabetes-shouldn-t-inject-insulin-publicly/303240/247 "2005-05-12T04:24:59Z")
> [@Hentor the Barbarian](#): > > Is this supposed to be witty? Funny? Clever? I don’t get any of that from it. It merely seems hateful and desperate. Suddenly, I feel quite sad for you. Ok, second time I have to ask. What is “hateful” about what I said? I don’t have anything against you, nor would I ever post anything negative about anyone’s child. I am only reacting to your posts in this, and one other thread. I happen to disagree with you, perhaps strongly. That doesn’t equal “hateful”, my friend. ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-diabetes-shouldn-t-inject-insulin-publicly/303240/248 "2005-05-12T10:09:16Z")
> [@milroyj](#): > > FTR, some posters with diabetes have posted that they never inject in public; others have posted that they do, but discreetly, so that other people are unaware of it. > > Not **Hentor** , though. Oh no. From his own words, we have laying kits out on the table, needles, pricking, injecting, bloody napkins, the whole nine yards. > > And he doesn’t think he should have to make an effort to be discreet about it. After all, it’s all about HIS child. No thanks to that attitude. > > Hentor is free to whatever he wants, of course, but I am equally free to think he’s rude for doing so. So let’s see. He lays a small kit (usually a dark color, and considerably smaller than a cigar box) on a table (gasps from the audience at that, I’m sure), pricks his son’s finger and blots the single resultant drop of blood onto a testing strip (is this the point that gets you going?), and then after results, gives a quick injection of insulin with, as we’ve seen stated repeatedly, a small hypodermic (something with which, granted, needle-phobes have a problem, but otherwise?). And this you equate to indiscretion and compare it to stripping his kid naked in public? It seems to me you are equating discretion with avoiding the possibility of anyone whatsoever seeing it. **Hentor** has said absolutely nothing to suggest that he or his family do anything whatsoever to draw attention to this procedure. It’s done quietly, quickly, and for all intents and purposes forgotten immediately. That seems to fit the idea of discretion pretty solidly by me. Whether you intended it so or not, your statement was highly obnoxious. And considering the way you phrased it: > [@milroyj](#): > > Really? I’m surprised. From your posts, it seems like disrobing your child in a restaurant would be perfectly acceptable to you. Or do you just save that particular performance for special occasions, say birthday parties, 1st communions, and Christmas? it’s pretty hard to imagine how you _weren’t_ intending to be hurtful. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-diabetes-shouldn-t-inject-insulin-publicly/303240/249 "2005-05-12T11:45:32Z")
I can not see any reason why a diabetic should not be able to inject at a resturant table (subtly), they are taking care of a medical need. Much the same as someone with asthma, who may need their inhaler or someone needing to take a pill ‘with food’ These situations are not ideal for the person involved or anyone watching but then I have sat near people with table manners that should prevent them from eating in public. My biggest concern about this thread is the “filthy bathrooms”. Why the fuck are ANY of you eating anywhere with filthy loos! Surely filthy loos are not the norm. I can’t remember (since Eygpt) eating anywhere with dodgy loos. That said \*\* Hentor \*\* sounds like you are being perfectly subtle and doing a good job of looking after your little chap…mind you I have blown my nose at the table (THE SCANDAL!!) so maybe I know nothing. ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-diabetes-shouldn-t-inject-insulin-publicly/303240/250 "2005-05-12T12:22:11Z")
> [@Troy McClure SF](#): > > To the former group, I would like to offer to sell you this rock. It keeps bears away. I’ve had it for ten years now, and nary a bear has approached me. I ain’t afraid of no stinkin’ rock! > [@Miss Purl McKnittington](#): > > I personally have no problem with bears; they run away when they see the syringe. Bear free since 1988! And I’m loving it. Although I must confess I’m kind of confused when I see them in restaurants. I ain’t afraid of no stinkin’ syringe! Why shouldn’t we bears be in restaurants? We can’t just live off filched picnic baskets, now can we? I was talking about this thread last evening while eating out with some friends and the current squeeze. Yes, I spend way to much time on this message board, thank you very much. Anyhow, I said that I had never noticed anyone test or give themselves an injection publicly before. One of my friends, who is diabetic, told me that’s either because I have good manners and don’t stare at others or it’s because I’m really dense as he had just a few minutes before given himself an injection. He then showed me his pen. I had not noticed it nor had the other four people at the table (Then again, they are, in fact, dense :D). I’m guessing you folks who are makin’ such a big stink over this are just damn nosy and stare rudely at every table in the restaurant. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-diabetes-shouldn-t-inject-insulin-publicly/303240/251 "2005-05-12T12:28:48Z")
> [@calm kiwi](#): > > My biggest concern about this thread is the “filthy bathrooms”. Why the fuck are ANY of you eating anywhere with filthy loos! Surely filthy loos are not the norm. I can’t remember (since Eygpt) eating anywhere with dodgy loos. Some people are obsessed with restroom germs; by their definition, all restrooms are filthy, because you do filthy things in there. We’ve had threads about people who think using telephones in the restroom is gross. I’ve always wanted to ask them where they keep their toothbrushes. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-diabetes-shouldn-t-inject-insulin-publicly/303240/252 "2005-05-12T12:37:46Z")
Not anywhere with flushing loos it seems. 🙂 Sensibly we put the loo in a seperate room from the toothbrush (usually), but I would be more concerned about eating somewhere with a “filthy bathroom” then I would with be a diabetic injecting themself at the table next door. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-diabetes-shouldn-t-inject-insulin-publicly/303240/253 "2005-05-12T12:46:05Z")
OKay, perhaps I’m really asking in the wrong place, but **Qadcop** earlier gave a medical opinion that injecting at the table didn’t subject other diners to any health risk, and one of the links from this thread said that injecting through a layer of cloth didn’t subject the diabetic to any health risk. I’m just wondering, does anyone have any **specific** information either way on whether injectng in a restroom subjects the diabetic to any health risk? Note that I recognize there are plenty of bacteria in a restroom; nonetheless, it is conceivable that an insignificant number of these bacteria find their way onto the insulin needle in the couple of seconds that the needle is exposed. Any accumulation of bacteria on the skin would presumably remain there after the diabetic has exited the restroom. Even if there’s no risk from injecting in a restroom, that doesn’t mean diabetics are obligated to do so; it would just be an additional data point. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-diabetes-shouldn-t-inject-insulin-publicly/303240/254 "2005-05-12T13:07:55Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > Even if there’s no risk from injecting in a restroom, that doesn’t mean diabetics are obligated to do so; it would just be an additional data point. > > Daniel While I find the idea of taking my son to the restroom to give him his injections distasteful for several reasons, the filth & florum aspect (while on the list) is not primary for me. More pressing would be the fact that so few restaurant restrooms (at least where we go) have a shelf or surface to set things down on, unless you would propose that I work from the floor or the diaper changing station in the restroom. It also doesn’t get past the problem of eliminating the risk that a casual glancer might happen upon us during the process. It also continues to strike me as taking particularly unnecessary steps in the process of managing my son’s diabetes in order to avoid upsetting an apparently small portion of the population, some of whom have problems keeping out of other’s business. I would regret causing distress for the smaller subset who both witness the event during a casual glance AND are unduly troubled by it. In your case (or our case, I should say) it seems that we would have to come down to trying to negotiate whose disorder takes precedent in terms of accomodation for the other. That’s an argument for which I see no clear resolution. My apologies if you are ever so exposed, and I am sorry that you are not able to obtain appropriate treatment. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-diabetes-shouldn-t-inject-insulin-publicly/303240/255 "2005-05-12T13:15:08Z")
Your son’s condition definetly takes precadence over “EWWWWWWWW”. Each and every time. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-diabetes-shouldn-t-inject-insulin-publicly/303240/256 "2005-05-12T13:55:07Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > OKay, perhaps I’m really asking in the wrong place, but **Qadcop** earlier gave a medical opinion that injecting at the table didn’t subject other diners to any health risk, and one of the links from this thread said that injecting through a layer of cloth didn’t subject the diabetic to any health risk. I’m just wondering, does anyone have any **specific** information either way on whether injectng in a restroom subjects the diabetic to any health risk? > > Note that I recognize there are plenty of bacteria in a restroom; nonetheless, it is conceivable that an insignificant number of these bacteria find their way onto the insulin needle in the couple of seconds that the needle is exposed. Any accumulation of bacteria on the skin would presumably remain there after the diabetic has exited the restroom. > > Even if there’s no risk from injecting in a restroom, that doesn’t mean diabetics are obligated to do so; it would just be an additional data point. While I posted earlier that I did not want to poke holes in my body in the toilets, I have to say that for the most part, I don’t honestly believe I’m at great risk of infection in there, or even necessarily any more than, say, doing it in a seat on an airplane. It’s more a matter of personal preference, and if I feel it’s best to go to th the toilets then I go in there and don’t get upset. One big problem, which I experienced just yesterday, is needing to take a shot on the plane when you are 1) unable to get up due to flight restrictions, or 2) the toilets are full, with a line of anxious looking males standing outside them waiting to evacuate their Chili’s Two nachos and beer feast they had at the airport, or 3) I’m stuck by the window with 500+ pounds of humanity to crawl over to get to the aisle. So I typically take my shot(s) (multiple on overseas flights) in my seat. Thankfully, people almost never notice. I mean, great Jesus, every single flight I’m on is filled with people who can’t figure out which seat they’re in, which row, or who, somehow, against all impossibilities, get on the wrong freaking plane (how is this even possible post 9/11? But it happened yesterday!). So given the general cluelessness and desire to avoid human contact on the plane, no one notices me. One time someone did pointedly ring for the stewardess and complain that I was using an “unapproved electronic device” on the flight (my meter), even though the in-flight magazine said “personal electronic medical equipment may be used at ALL TIMES”. Oh well, you go on nearly 1000 flights, you meet some creeps. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-diabetes-shouldn-t-inject-insulin-publicly/303240/257 "2005-05-12T13:57:42Z")
> [@Hentor the Barbarian](#): > > While I find the idea of taking my son to the restroom to give him his injections distasteful for several reasons, the filth & florum aspect (while on the list) is not primary for me. More pressing would be the fact that so few restaurant restrooms (at least where we go) have a shelf or surface to set things down on, unless you would propose that I work from the floor or the diaper changing station in the restroom. Ah, that makes complete sense. Again, I’m not saying that people SHOULD have to go to the restroom to inject–I was just unconvinced that the “restrooms are full of cooties!” argument is relevant. But the inconvenience argument (along with the point that a casual glancer might still see) is perfectly convincing. And again, given that I’ve never ever noticed a diabetic administering an injection, I’m not the least bit upset over this issue; I’m only continuing in the thread because I think it’s interesting. (FWIW, I suspect that **Kalhoun** remains in the thread only because he’s backed into a corner; I don’t think any amount of clever insults or reasonable debate will get him to back down, although it might be satisfying for the insulter/debater). Thanks! Daniel ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-diabetes-shouldn-t-inject-insulin-publicly/303240/258 "2005-05-12T14:11:38Z")
FWIW, the germs in my own bathroom are mine-and my families. the germs in a public restroom are who knows? And Lord knows where they’ve been etc. Shared space involving body fluids is always a higher risk to folks. In normal healthy people, the risk, while higher, is still quite low-thank goodness for immune systems and intact skin. You may catch a cold from the “clean” faucet in the restaurant bathroom, but not much else. I doubt that any diabetic injecting in a public toilet would immediately succumb to some nasty contagious bug. But the chance that he could pick up an infection of some kind is higher. Why take the risk? As a nurse, I would never counsel anyone to do any type of invasive procedure in the confines of a public restroom–and that includes inhalers. The staff may do an hourly wipedown, the place may look clean–it is not. Not only is it not clean, you are not resistant to all the germs present, like you are at home. **beckwall** –I’m with you- I too hope that eyes have been opened with this thread. People carry with them tremendous burdens, all unseen for the most part. More kindness and charity of thought are needed in this world. \ ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-diabetes-shouldn-t-inject-insulin-publicly/303240/259 "2005-05-12T14:19:50Z")
> [@Una Persson](#): > > One big problem, which I experienced just yesterday, is needing to take a shot on the plane when you are 1) unable to get up due to flight restrictions, or 2) **the toilets are full, with a line of anxious looking males standing outside them waiting to evacuate their Chili’s Two nachos and beer feast they had at the airport** , or 3) I’m stuck by the window with 500+ pounds of humanity to crawl over to get to the aisle. So I typically take my shot(s) (multiple on overseas flights) in my seat. Thankfully, people almost never notice. I mean, great Jesus, every single flight I’m on is filled with people who can’t figure out which seat they’re in, which row, or who, somehow, against all impossibilities, get on the wrong freaking plane (how is this even possible post 9/11? But it happened yesterday!). So given the general cluelessness and desire to avoid human contact on the plane, no one notices me. One time someone did pointedly ring for the stewardess and complain that I was using an “unapproved electronic device” on the flight (my meter), even though the in-flight magazine said “personal electronic medical equipment may be used at ALL TIMES”. Oh well, you go on nearly 1000 flights, you meet some creeps. Yet another example of how I am either extremely polite or extremely dense. As much as I fly, I have never noticed anyone taking an insulin shot. Odds are it has happened quite a few times and no doubt right next to me a time or two. Heh! People getting on the wrong plane. I see it too. Even been told that I must be in the wrong seat cause “my ticket says I have this seat.” Indeed you have this seat, _on the flight boarding five gates down_. You know what gets me even more? Somehow the ticket checker person actually **let** the person on the plane to begin with. 😕 Oh, and **Una** the bolded part of your quote? Thanks for adding to the list of reasons why I fear airplane toilets. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-diabetes-shouldn-t-inject-insulin-publicly/303240/260 "2005-05-12T14:28:49Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > I doubt that any diabetic injecting in a public toilet would immediately succumb to some nasty contagious bug. But the chance that he could pick up an infection of some kind is higher. Why take the risk? **Eleanor** , I hear what you’re saying–I’m just not convinced that the risk is appreciably higher. That is, I’m not convinced that, by injecting in a restroom, one in a billion diabetics would gain a disease that they would not otherwise have gained. I’m not convinced that in the history of diabetics injecting in bathrooms, this risk has ever materialized. I _could_ be convinced, mind you; there very well might be a 50% rise in disease risk from injecting in a public restroom. But I’d be curious to see **data** to that effect, not **conjecture** based on data that may or may not be relevant. Daniel [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-diabetes-shouldn-t-inject-insulin-publicly/303240.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-diabetes-shouldn-t-inject-insulin-publicly/303240.md?page=14)