Mom who can 'smell diseases' saved son's life after noticing aroma of potentially fatal illness
A British mom has claimed that she was able to smell that her son was suffering from a life-threatening illness.
Most people have a lot to thank their moms for, but most don’t end up saving your life through the power of their nose.
However that's exactly what Victoria Hare who lives in Oakham, Rutland, said she has done, claiming to have the ability to smell if her children are unwell.
Of all the superhero powers, I would put a super-smelling nose pretty low down but if it saves lives, maybe it's worth it.
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Victoria at least seems to think so as the 41-year-old was allegedly able to confirm that her son was suffering from an illness that could have proven fatal.
Victoria has said she is able to smell ketones on a person's breath - which have a distinctive pear drop or acetone smell emitted through the breath and sweat.
The smell of ketones on a person's breath can be a sign of a number of conditions, including a life-threatening complication of diabetes known as diabetic ketoacidosis, the ketogenic diet and liver failure.
'Pear-drop breath' can also be a characteristic of type-1 diabetes, an autoimmune disorder that affects around 400,000 people in the UK and means the body is unable to make insulin.
Victoria said her 15-year-old son, Harry, began smelling of nail varnish remover in October last year and it led her to fear her son may be diabetic.
Unable to get a doctors appointment she used a device to measure his blood sugar levels, which were 'sky high'.
She then took him to a hospital and had doctors confirm he was close to diabetic ketoacidosis.
Victoria explained her supposed superpower and how she first noticed it on her son the same way she had on her own mother when she was ill.
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.
"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 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."
Victoria is just happy her son is alive and well and has asked parents to be vigilant about their children’s health.
Gerrard Kaonga