2 yr old diagnosed going on hols

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Marie1

Newbie
Messages
2
Hi there

Our toddler has just been diagnosed. We are upset understandably as it is a total shock to us/her. Just trying to get up to speed on all the information and this website which is very helpful.

We have a holiday booked for next month to Portugal and are unsure whether we should be going or not and whether we will be confident enough to give the insulin etc knowing that at the moment our hospital is just 10 mins away and we have 24 hour support on the phone if needed.

Does anyone have experience of bringing a young toddler with Type 1 on hols, will the heat affect her, is there anything we should be concerned about? I need to book our insurance today as of course this wasn't booked prior to getting diagnosed so I'm hoping not to encounter too many difficulties.

All responses gratefully received.

Thanks.
 
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hanadr

Expert
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8,157
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I haven't had your experience, but I am a mother and grandmother and sympathise with you hugely. All I can suggest from travelling with an adult type 1 for 35 years, is test, test, test. I would check on your holiday insurance too. I think that hospitals in Portugal will be fine, if you need them, but you should be able to avoid that .
Is your toddler still in nappies? If so, it might be an idea to get some urine testing sticks. you could test a nappy and save pricking the little mite occasionally. Incidentally, the forearm has fewer nerve sensors than the fingers, so you might try alternative site testing, your meter booklet will tell you how.
I hope you can work out a way to take this holiday safely. You need it
 
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donnamum

Well-Known Member
Messages
170
My 9 year old was diagnosed in Jan. We went to France in May. We booked it and cancelled it several times before finally committing to go. We got insurance from LLoyds TSB which covered her, took double the medication and plently of ice blocks to keep insulin cool. The heat did affect her but we managed by reducing lantus by one unit on day two and changing back to original dose on return. I gave diebetic team contact numbers and we agreed that i could text questions and they would ring me back with replys. I wrote the french for carbs so I could read all the packets so we could still carb count.

The only difficulty was her throwing up for whole ferry crossing and me constantly trying to feed her

It was great to have a few weeks of normal family time without hospial appoinments.

Happy hoildays.
 
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layla42

Active Member
Messages
29
Hi,

My 3 year old was diagnosed in January. We haven't been abroad since but from the support group / diabetic nurse etc you would be likely to need to give a lot less insulin when it's hot - specially if you are doing more activity than usual eg walking round, splashing in pool, playing etc.

Our consultant / diabetic nurses are great, we can phone any time - would you be able to phone your team from abroad if you were stuck?

For me, the decision to go would be based on how easy it was to test my DD's blood sugar. If she was going along with it, and might let me do additional tests, then I would go. If she was screaming and refusing to do it every time, then I probably wouldn't go. For my daughter, she was crying at tests and injections every day for 4 weeks but after that was better with it.

I know another family with a 10 year old who was diagnosed and they went abroad about a week and a half later! But 10 year olds are different to toddlers as we know...

Good luck! I hope you get to go. Layla x
 
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