Even in 2012, having tattoos still carries a stigma.  Many employers will immediate disqualify a job candidate if they tattoos that are visable outside regular clothing, no matter what the tattoo depicts.  If you've ever been one of those that missed out on something because of your love of ink, you can now say the tattoo is necessary... if you have diabetes. 

Researchers at the Texas Diabetes Institute have been working on a new glucose checking technique using nano particles.  Research Associate Curtiss Puckett explains that the the nano particles would have a dye in them and be inserted into the skin in a fashion like a tattoo, where the nano particles would detect glucose levels.  Unlike regular tattoos, the diabetes tattoos would be more like blacklight tattoos, being invisable to the naked eye and only showing up under a special light.  The diabetic would hold the special light over the tattoo, and the color of the tattoo, on a spectrum of yellow to orange, would represent the person's glucose level.  The lighter the color, the higher the blood sugar levels. 

Though this tattoo would make checking blood sugar levels much easier, Puckett does not believe it will ever replace the standard testing methods,

"No one will get away from the meter.  The meter is tried and true. It's a more accurate measure of sugar, and it's a more reliable method."

Some diabetic patients are already interested in the possibility of a diabetes tattoo, saying that one tattoo session would be less of a pain than pricking your own finger on a daily basis.  Researchers are still trying to finalize the nano particle ink.  If this passes, wouldn't you love to see Paula Deen show up on "LA Ink" to get a tat from Kat Von D?

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