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Images in medicine
An informative tattoo
Free
  1. S Nag,
  2. A McCulloch
  1. Bishop Auckland General Hospital, Cockton Hill Road, Bishop Auckland DL14 6AD, UK; s.nag{at}btopenworld.com

    http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/pmj.79.933.402

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      A 28 year old man with type 1 diabetes had this tattoo inscribed a few weeks after starting insulin. He was worried about hypoglycaemia and was particularly concerned about this being unrecognised by others. He decided to have a tattoo rather than carry a Medic Alert bracelet.

      Hypoglycaemia is the most common complication of insulin therapy and one that patients on insulin fear the most. Neuroglycopenic symptoms due to hypoglycaemia are not infrequently mistaken for alcohol intoxication. The frequency with which this occurs suggests that such accounts may be more than just anecdotal.

      Figure

      (Published with patient’s permission.)