Flights

[CC1]

Hi all going away shortly, do I pop my needles and insulin pens in clear plastic bags to go through security at the airport? I have a letter from my diabetic nurse.

 

[urbanracer]

Hi all going away shortly, do I pop my needles and insulin pens in clear plastic bags to go through security at the airport? I have a letter from my diabetic nurse.

I don't and have never been challenged.

 

[CC1]

Ok what do you put them in to go through security then?

 

[Mike d]

The scanners will pick them up

 

[CC1]

The scanners will pick them up

Pick what up Mike?

 

[Mike d]

Thru whatever packaging you choose @CC1

It won't matter as there will not be an issue

 

[KK123]

I don't, it's hard enough getting a few bits of make up in those tiny bags, they are definitely not big enough for insulin cartridges and of course you are only allowed one. I keep the cartridges in their actual boxes and then I put those boxes and the needles etc in a small over the shoulder rucksack type bag (a small one). I stick it on the tray and so far have never had it questioned. If it was I would show them the Drs letter etc.

 

[karen8967]

i dont put needles in clear bags just my insulin cartridges and pens

 

[urbanracer]

Ok what do you put them in to go through security then?

I have an old pencil case that I keep 2 pens (long and short acting), some needles and a pot of strips in. My longer term supplies, like enough needles and strips to last a couple of weeks stay in the bottom of my rucksack in their original packaging. My spare insulin pens stay in a Frio wallet, again in my rucksack.

The only diabetes related iems that I put in the clear plastic bags are the small bottles of Glucojuice and tubes of Glucogel if I have them with me.

Never ocurred to me to remove them for security and as I said, I have never been asked to put them in seperate plastic bags, or had a security person question what they were. I fly 3 to 4 times a year for work and liesure (have just come back from Portugal) so it's not a one off. I actually tried to show a Gatwick security guy my kit when I was a diabetes rookie but he just said something along the lines of 'we see a lot of that stuff' and was plainly uninterested.

Edited:- I have always undrstood the clear bags to be primarily for refillable containers that you could have easily put some dubious liquids in. Insulin pens are clearly not in that category.

 

[KK123]

I have been told by airport security that you can have multiple clear plastic bags for liquids if they are used for medication.

Thanks Helen, I thought that would be the case (they're mostly good at airports) but I always think I have enough pressure getting my shoes off and faffing about with my computer and taking off my belt and making sure I pick it all back up at the end, without undoing all my insulin boxes and trying to re zip 5 of those ****** little zip bags.

Edited by moderator

 

[CC1]

I don't, it's hard enough getting a few bits of make up in those tiny bags, they are definitely not big enough for insulin cartridges and of course you are only allowed one. I keep the cartridges in their actual boxes and then I put those boxes and the needles etc in a small over the shoulder rucksack type bag (a small one). I stick it on the tray and so far have never had it questioned. If it was I would show them the Drs letter etc.

Thank you KK for a sensible answer I agree you can only have one plastic bag and I can't fit the prefilled pens in them.

 

[ChrissiStar]

I have found it depends on the airport (I know, not much help) so I have just got to the stage of whacking the whole lot in a clear bag to save any hassle! Cartridges of insulin and any pens are fluids so they are a given and after a particularly salty experience at Dublin airport a few years ago I now whack my needles in too and all my meds go in one bag on their own. Of course I ended up with a security officer who decided to question why I had two bags as ‘its ONE per passenger’ and tried to explain it was medication in one and my other fluids in another and I was perfectly polite about it, she wasn’t happy though and I ended up getting a full-body pat down from her colleague.

I travel frequently though (mainly to the States) and have never had a problem, in fact most NYC airports don’t even have the clear bag/liquid rule.

 

[annliggins]

Insulin pens go in clear bags , thats the requirement however, the security dont count them .So 1 bag with your liquids and as many as you need for your insulin pens. I go for extended periods so i sometimes need 3 bags extra. The whole shebang goes in an extra meds bag ie insulin, needles,
Libre, nightrider , ketone strips yady yah...
You are allowed to carry what you need to keep you alive in a extra bag They dont question it ..a doc letter is advised but in 10 yrs ive never been asked for it . I stuff mine in the libre bag ...a freebee from them

 

[Daibell]

Hi. I've always left all of my insulin kit in my carry-on luggage and it's never been queried despite dozens of trip thru security.

 

[KK123]

Hi. I've always left all of my insulin kit in my carry-on luggage and it's never been queried despite dozens of trip thru security.

Hi Daibell. I think that's what every single one of us is saying (it comes with us in our carry on) but do YOU transfer it into those liquid bags or not? x

 

[becca59]

I don’t I have it all packed in a diabetic kit bag which has lots of compartments to put things in. Including a small sharps box. I just put in the tray. No one has batted an eyelid.

 

[ChrissiStar]

I guess the thing we have to remember when travelling is that airport security is performed by human beings in different airports in different countries. As a result, the rules can be interpreted differently,
So, I am prepared with my insulin in a clear plastic bag. I am lucky that I have small pots for cosmetics, etc. and do not use prefilled pens so I can fit everything in a single bag. But this doesn't stop me falling foul of that airport's interpretation of the security rules for sharps or liquids every so often.
The rule I apply when that happens is to be polite and try not to argue. This approach has got me through 100s of flights with my diabetes kit with the odd request for a doctor's letter, separation of medication into a separate plastic bag, close inspection of metal insulin pen, suggestions that an insulin pump is fine to be x-rayed (manufacturer's do not advise this so I politely request a pat down), close investigation of my CGM and, once, being told I chose to have diabetes. I didn't argue with any of these although I reported the last one to Heathrow security management.

So, be prepared but, in most circumstances, airport security is as smooth with diabetes as it is without.

That’s it totally, go prepared for any situation. I have experienced lovely security staff as well as some horrible ones, but that’s life really! Once going through Edinburgh I was trying to stuff something into the one plastic bag and a member of staff came up to me and said ‘medication? Pop all of that in a different bag, you can have as many as you like’ and I sailed through. I have only ever been questioned in Singapore and a quick look at the letter I was carrying meant I was on my way in minutes.