How did we test for diabetes before the invention of chemical tests?

1500’s B.C.-
It is noticed by healers that ants were attracted to the urine of people with specific disease symptoms. Also during this time, diabetes is mentioned in Egyptian records by 3rd Dynasty physician Hesy-Ra with the discussion of “frequent urination” as a symptom.

A.D. 200-
Greek physician Arateus describes diabetes as “the melting down of flesh and limbs into urine.” Arateus first uses the word “diabetes”, which is a Greek word that means “to siphon” or “pass through”.

A.D. 200 – 205-
Greek physician Galen comes to the conclusion (mistakenly) that diabetes is a kidney disease.

A.D. 300-
Chinese and Indian scientists and scholars discover that diabetic urine has a sweet taste.

A.D. 300 – 1500-
“Water tasters” are commonly used to diagnose diabetes by drinking the urine of people suspected of having the disease. Because of the sweet taste, the term mellitus is added to diabetes. Mellitus is a Latin word for “honey” or “sweetness”.

1500’s-
Paracelsus, a Swiss physician, identifies diabetes as a serious disease.

1600’s-
English physician Matthew Dobson developed a method to extract sugar from the urine and blood of diabetics.
French chemist Chevreul establishes a link between blood sugar (glucose) and diabetes.

1700’s-
John Rollo showed that the level of sugar in urine corresponded with the types and amount of food eaten. Breads and grains increase the sugar and meats tended to decrease it.

English physician Thomas Cawley, while performing an autopsy of a diabetic person, discovered that the pancreas was different than that of a healthy person. This created the first connection between the pancreas and diabetes.

Late 1800’s-
First chemical tests for diabetes mellitus were created (do you think the water tasters were thankful?). Also, physicians began experimenting with diets to combat diabetes.