Diabetics injecting in public

I'm not looking to discuss medical issues around diabetes. I'm well aware of its severity as I have few family members with the complaint. This afternoon I was sitting down having lunch in the local coffee shop. The place is packed. A stranger sits beside me, no problems there. They proceed to order food and again no problems. Once they didn't start talking to me I didn't care what they done. I was there simply escaping the office for an hour. However, next I see him shifting about and fishing something out of his pocket. He proceeds to take out a syringe and leave it within inches of my plate. The man clearly had diabetes. He continues by unbuttoning his shirt to administer the the medication by syringe into his abdominal. Myself and needles don't see eye to eve and of course I was considering the hygiene aspect of the situation. After he did what he did I asked him could he not have taken care of this somewhere else and not around food. The guy was completely miffed with me.

When I was leaving I mentioned it to the owner and she agreed with the other customer. She said she had absolutely no problems with what he was doing as it was medically related.

I was telling everybody back at the office, of course they all had a great laugh but thought I was in the wrong. I'm now feeling guilty that I peeved this man rightly off for the day!

PatrickJ V's the other customer. Who wins?

I think the customer should have done it in the bathroom if not at a table on his own or with his own party. My aunt has diabetes and would often check her bloods while in my company and would have no problem with that but then she knows my attitude to her doing so.

Bit like a mother breastfeeding her baby in public. I have no prob with this and neither would I have a problem with a diabetic doing what a diabetic must do.

No need to feel guilty either Patrick. The diabetic is probably used to people objecting.

I'm with the OP on this one.
I don't bring a toothbrush mug to the table even though I 'have to' brush my teeth after eating.
Syringes are sharp, pointy and dangerous and I have no idea what would happen if the diabetic customer was jostled and another person happened to get a shot by mistake - would this not be dangerous?

definitely should have went to the bathroom I think.

Disagree - injecting in the bathroom is unnecessary, frankly carries unpleasant connotations and associations (and some people might consider that venue unhygenic). They have a medical need, they aren't interfering with you and they aren't creating a fuss. You have a distaste for what they are doing but really that is your difficulty. I'm not with you on this one PatrickJ. I agree with Leper, these are activities we are unaccustomed to but perhaps should become accustomed to rather than driving people into a room which is not designed for their purpose. On a side note I find it appalling that anyone thinks forcing a mother to feed her baby in the toilet is okay or worse still, preferable - they should be obliged to eat their own meal in the bathroom - it might re-orient their thinking.
grenzgebiet - your "have to" brush your teeth is in a rather different bracket of "have to" - the comparison is between your preference and their necessity - they are not comparable situations - you won't be risking ending up in hospital as a result of a meal without insulin.

+1

He may have been feeling unsteady and had to sit down to inject straight away - I also wouldn't have a problem with it.

There was a young lady who died as a result of a nut allergy in a Dublin restaurant a few months ago. She did not have her epi pen with her, neither could she get one without a prescription at the nearby chemist. She died as a result.

Would people have the same objections to her injecting herself publicly even if it would have saved her life?

try walking around O'Connell St and the quays the amount of junkies you may witness injecting in public is a disgrace ! I do agree that the diabetic could be a little more discrete but be aware they may have required that medicine urgently

I'm inclined to agree with OP. The other customer might at least have asked if being around needles or injections caused him to have an adverse reaction like fainting or vomiting or left him feeling uncomfortable. I see the dining companion as selfish and inconsiderate.

I disagree with @Leper. Injecting in public is nothing at all like breastfeeding. Injecting in public uses a potentially dangerous implement, a needle, which can cause stab injuries; after use, a needle is even more dangerous as it may now be a source of blood-borne pathogens.

Taking blood readings in public is also inconsiderate and selfish in my view and may cause discomfort or create dangers for others. This procedure also uses a a needle (or lancet) to create a wound to produce blood (a droplet), the blood is transferred to a test-strip, which is then inserted into a machine which does the reading.

At the end of the procedure, the following items are potential infection sources:

• The lancet
• The test strip
• The test machine
• The tissue or hanky used to clean blood from the puncture wound.

If I need to do this testing away from home, I do so in a stall in a public toilet, flushing tissue away. I carry a secure, hard-plastic container (an old test-strip dispenser) for the used lancet and test strip in the wallet for my test-kit. And needless to say, I wash my hands before and after testing.

I have of course being diagnosed as diabetic several years ago.

grenzgebiet said:

i'm with the op on this one.
I don't bring a toothbrush mug to the table even though i 'have to' brush my teeth after eating.
Syringes are sharp, pointy and dangerous and i have no idea what would happen if the diabetic customer was jostled and another person happened to get a shot by mistake - would this not be dangerous?

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+1