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The smell of Insulin

Bertyboy

Well-Known Member
Messages
215
Type of diabetes
Type 1
What does Insulin smell of to you?

My first thought was that it smells of "hospital". I don't know if this means that the smell in hospitals is insulin lying about the place or if there is something they use in cleaning hospitals that they also use in insulin (disinfectant?)
I've had people near me say it smells of artificial smoke flavour, rubber bands and creosote.

Is the smell actual insulin or some additive?
 
I would have to guess at some additive. I don't really know how to describe what it smells of. My long acting insulin, Tresiba, definitely smells more strongly than the humalog though. I can smell the tresiba on my fingers for a good few hours after I've taken it - which is useful if I can't remember if I've had it or not!
 
I wouldn't have thought the smell is actually the scent of insulin! It's just whatever it is suspended in.

I definitely think it smells of creosote.
 
For the record it tastes quite bad as well......or so the wife informed once.
Out for Saturday breakfast, I did my air shot into corner of napkin ( serviette I'm not really that posh ). Finished breakfast and I had left a piece of fried bread on my plate. Scrapped aforementioned fried bread along with a few other bits to side of plate and placed the corner of serviette ( 4 units of novorapid) along side the scrappings.
Wife bless her soul went for the fried bread. Can't repeat what she called me, suffice to say she doesn't eat scraps of my plate anymore.
 
catapillar said:
I wouldn't have thought the smell is actually the scent of insulin! It's just whatever it is suspended in.

I definitely think it smells of creosote.
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That will be the Cresol preservative that is found in nearly all insulin.
 
I hate the smell of the preservative - but it's proved very useful in the past. When on MDI and having 5+ injections a day I would sometimes forget if I'd injected or not.

The nose of the nearest family member would be dragged into action to see if any of my usual injection sites 'smelt like a hospital'.

They didn't seem to mind. Bless 'em.

And it worked. A newly-injected site smells unmistakable!

(Sorry if this grosses anyone out.)
 
To me it smells like an oil burner fuel, if my hospital smelled like that, I would not go there
 
I guess I have a poor sense of smell cos I can't smell it !
 
I think it smells like paint. Whether it's a children's watercolor, or something similar
 
Definitely hospital is the picture in my head when I smell it , even though when I go to hospital it doesn’t smell like my insulin. I think it’s just a mental thing . I suppose I should be happy it doesn’t smell like dog poo Hehehe
 
Insulin smells kind of chemical
at least rather unpleasant. I certainly don't like the smell.
 
Ushthetaff said:
Definitely hospital is the picture in my head when I smell it , even though when I go to hospital it doesn’t smell like my insulin. I think it’s just a mental thing . I suppose I should be happy it doesn’t smell like dog poo Hehehe
Click to expand...
Hospital smells more like disinfection to me.
 
I actually love the smell of insulin. It reminds me of summer as a child and calamine lotion.
 
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