Mum claims she ‘sniffed out son’s life-threatening illness’ after he was dismissed by doctors
A mum who says she can tell when her kid is unwell through her sense of smell claimed she was able to sniff out her son's illness and possibly save his life.
Victoria Hare claims she can smell ketones, acids produced by the human body when it breaks down fat for energy, and that allows her to know when her child is sick.
The 41-year-old says ketones have a distinctive smell, like a pear drop or acetone, and the smell of it on someone's breath can be a sign that something is wrong.
When her 15-year-old son Harry started smelling of nail varnish remover last year, Victoria started to worry that he might be diabetic.
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The smell of ketones on the breath can be a sign of type-1 diabetes, and can also indicate other things such as diabetic ketoacidosis and liver failure.
She tried calling her local GP office but was told that her son's symptoms were 'not an emergency' and asked her to call back next week.
Unable to get a doctor's appointment to look into her fears that her son had diabetes, the 41-year-old mum tested her son's blood sugar levels herself and decided to get him to hospital.
The Rutland woman took Harry to Peterborough City Hospital where doctors said the 15-year-old was close to diabetic ketoacidosis, which is a potentially fatal complication of diabetes.
She said: "I could smell this acetone smell on him, it was like nail varnish remover. And I knew that smell.
"When my other son was very poorly and couldn't eat for a few days, you get ketones - your body is burning its own fat for fuel and there's a specific smell with that.
"And I smelled that smell on my son and I've also smelled it on my mother before when she's been very unwell.
"I asked Harry if he'd been unwell recently or if there's any bugs going around but he said no. I could just smell this smell on his breath, he doesn't have to be dead close to me to smell it. It was very strong.
"When he was speaking, I could smell this acetone smell coming from him. You can get this smell when you're doing the keto diet as your body's in ketosis.
"I've got a really sensitive sense of smell, but not everyone can smell ketones on people's breath.
"I was confused because I knew Harry was eating but I could smell it on him. You expect to smell it on someone who hasn't eaten for a few days."
She's feeling very lucky that she was able to sniff out her son's illness and get him to hospital, saying she 'brought him in just in time' and a doctor told her she'd 'saved his life'.
Victoria was less happy with those who told her to wait as her son 'could've died'.
Joe Harker