218 THE TREATMENT OF DISEASES. 



the number of flies and wasps which its sweetness attracted to the chamber-pot. It 

 is said that in India the red ants have been observed to swarm in the same way about 

 a vessel containing diabetic urine. 



The presence of sugar in the urine naturally increases its density. The urine of a 

 person suffering from diabetes mellitus is heavier than the urine of a healthy person. 

 If we take the specific gravity of healthy urine by means of a urinometer (see 

 URINE) we find that it lies somewhere between 1,015 and 1,025, the specific gravity 

 of water being 1,000. Now, if we take the specific gravity of the urine of a person 

 suffering from diabetes mellitus, we find that it is very high. It ranges from 1,030 

 to 1,060, but is generally a little above or below 1,040. Do not try the specific gravity 

 of your urine directly it is passed, but let it get cold first. The best way is to mix 

 all the urine passed in twenty-four hours, and to examine a specimen of this. By 

 this plan you get a good average result, for naturally the specific gravity of the urine 

 varies a little at different periods of the day. 



There is a very simple and beautiful test, by means of which the presence of 

 sugar in the urine may be detected. A few crumbs of German yeast are put into 

 the bottom of a small, narrow-necked bottle ; this is filled up to the brim with the sus- 

 pected urine, covered with a saucer, and then inverted. If a little urine be put in 

 the saucer and the bottle be kept upright, the fluid will not run out. The saucer 

 and inverted bottle should then be placed on one side in a warm place say on the 

 mantel-piece. If sugar be present fermentation takes place, giving rise to carbonic gas, 

 which forces out of the bottle the whole or a portion of the urine. There is one pre- 

 caution which should be observed. Some specimens of yeast spontaneously evolve 

 bubbles of gas, so that it is desirable to perform a similar experiment with simple 

 water in the place of the urine, and to compare the results. A pennyworth of 

 German yeast may be purchased at any baker's. 



The presence of sugar in the urine on one occasion is not an infallible sign of 

 diabetes, for it may exist as a temporary condition, as the result of some error in 

 diet. As a rule, however, it is a matter of serious import. In many cases the 

 quantity of sugar contained in the urine is very great, and in some instances people 

 have been known in a few months to pass their own weight of sugar. 



So much, then, for the urine. We need hardly say that this is not the only 

 symptom. As so much fluid is poured out by one channel the others naturally suffer. 

 The skin is usually very dry. We have heard a patient say, " Nothing ever makes 

 me perspire. It does not matter how hot it is, or how fast I walk, my skin is always 

 quite dry, even under the armpits." The dryness of the skin is usually in proportion 

 to the amount of urine secreted. The bowels are confined and the motions dry and 

 hard. Excessive thirst is usually a common symptom, and often leads to the 

 detection of the nature of the case. It is not uncommon for a diabetic patient to 

 drink from eight to twelve pints a day, without satisfying his thirst. The mouth is 

 usually dry ; and the tongue dry, parched, and sticky. There is, as a rule, no falling- 

 off in the appetite, and it is not uncommon for the patient to eat very much more 

 than when in health. We often hear people say that as long as they can eat well 

 there cannot be much the matter with them ; but this is not always true. In spite of 

 the quantity of food taken, the patient gradually loses strength and gets thinner and 



