Posted By bereznikov Apologies in advance for my ignorance, but: Is it mandatory for the workers to drink the glucose water? - if so, why? Can you not provide him with a suitable alternative drink? I think consulting the welder in question about why, and his views, medical needs etc etc will be your best starting point. bereznikov

Posted By nigelhammond I am not a medic but my daughter has type 1 diabetes so I know quite a bit about it. Diabetes is a name that covers two complex conditions - Type 1 diabetes which is an autoimmune disease that kills off the insulin producing cells in the pancreas and tends to start in children- possibly due to a virus and genetic make up. Then there is type 2 diabetes which usually starts in adults and is usually but not always associated with lifestyle causes. Type 2s still make insulin but it is not effective. Type 2s can simply be altering their lifestyle, may be on tablets or may be on insulin. Where as type 1s are always on insulin. Next thing to point out is that you can't simply say "they cannot drink glucose". Depends on the situation. If a person with type 1 diabetes or insulin dependent type 2 has low blood sugar and is heading towards a hypo then they NEED glucose. If on the other hand their blood sugars are going high then they need to avoid glucose or if they have an insulin pump take more insulin. I appreciate everyone here is meaning well but I'm afraid saying "diabetics cannot have glucose" is a very dangerous thing to say because you could be taking away an emergency cure which results in a seizure and worse. Please consult medical advice about this - and of course the individual. Your approach needs to fit the condition, how well it is controlled and should be based on proper advice. I also suggest you look at the Diabetes UK web site which has a great video explaining diabetes.

Posted By garyr Excellent post Nigel, I to have a type 1 diabetic family member and have lost count of the times I have had to try to correct other peoples misconceptions of this condition. I'm afraid that as an "unseen condition", type 1 diabetes will continue to be a mystery to others who have neither medical knowledge or personal experience. My family member is currently at a UK university and is trying to convince the authorities there of the need to be able to take glucose tablets into a two hour exam, they only allow a bottle of plain water to be taken in. So even our great seats of learning actually still need to learn.

Posted By garyr Clairl. I wasn't aware that I was putting people down, if thats the way it reads I can only apologise to anyone offended. To answer your question re epilepsy, kidney failure and heart disease, as an ex paramedic and still a volunteer responder, probably a shade more than the average person in the street, as to signing well you have me there. I was merely pointing out that even great institutions still need to consult their own advisers before putting in place blanket decisions without fully understanding the potential implications of their actions. I dont post here very often and i have just remembered the reasons why

Posted By Phil Rose I suffer from the dreaded 'D' as well. I wasn't quite sure if the post was about someone being denied the drink or declining it. However, Nigel posted a lucid and sensible response that I concur with. People who suffer from either T1 or T2 diabetes are generally very aware of their condition and the symptoms of a 'hypo' or 'hyper' - always good practice though to let the people that you work with know as well. Phil