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Holidays

Jellybaby98

Active Member
Messages
25
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hey i am going on holidays in two weeks and have totally forgotten how to pack!!
I know i have to carry my insulin in hand luggage as it cant go in the hold. But.. can i take needles, spare machine and strips etc in my case?! Please help!!
 
Jellybaby98 said:
Hey i am going on holidays in two weeks and have totally forgotten how to pack!!
I know i have to carry my insulin in hand luggage as it cant go in the hold. But.. can i take needles, spare machine and strips etc in my case?! Please help!!
Click to expand...
I do not think you can put your BG meter in your case as it will go in the hold and as I understand it there is a temperature range that they have to be stored at for proper functioning. I think it is the same with the test strips too.
 
Also can anybody advise me. It says on my meter information that it must not be exposed to X ray but they always tell me at the airport that it must be X rayed and that it will not harm it. I also have trouble especially with long haul and metformin as when I get there it is usually night time in England but the middle of the afternoon at my destination and I am starving and ready for a meal. My sugars readings are well out for days. I wonder how such as Theresa may manages it.
 
Jellybaby98 said:
Hey i am going on holidays in two weeks and have totally forgotten how to pack!!
I know i have to carry my insulin in hand luggage as it cant go in the hold. But.. can i take needles, spare machine and strips etc in my case?! Please help!!
Click to expand...

I take EVERYTHING in hand luggage. I want that with me at all times, in case my suitcase is lost/stolen and some things can be affected by temperature in the hold.
 
I have only been once, but my DSN told me to put everything in my hand luggage. I also had a travel letter wrote out, and gave this into the security people with my glucose meter as it can not go through the x ray machine. They will just swab it and give it back to you with the letter.
 
If you do pack your bg into the hold you will need to take spare batteries as the freezing temperatures there drain battery life like nothing else! But do try and carry everything in hand luggage - always reassuring that you know where everything is if something does go wrong (bags lost/sent to wrong destination) have fun!
 
Umm. I've never taken my glucose meter out of hand baggage - it's always been x-rayed, and there's been no problem with it. It works the same way as any other piece of electronics. There is no sensing equipment within the device, so xRays don't affect it.
 
Jellybaby98 said:
Hey i am going on holidays in two weeks and have totally forgotten how to pack!!
I know i have to carry my insulin in hand luggage as it cant go in the hold. But.. can i take needles, spare machine and strips etc in my case?! Please help!!
Click to expand...

Been overseas twice recently. Put the whole kit and kaboodle in a clear wash bag and as part of hand luggage, with the letter, all fine.
 
Yes you can I even take my own food. I wear a pump and so far all airports were good about it. Also I carry a letter in my passport from my care team that I am a type 1 diabetic, by law they have to allow you to carry all your insulin etc including your food through
 
Thanks for all the advice guys, i have bought a hand luggage case and am going to carry everything, inluding my spares in this.
Is there any restriction on how many needles, machines etc u can take? I always like to have my usual set up and then a spare set of blood glucose machine and insulin pens.
 

I've never heard of a country having restrictions on quantities of supplies with the only exception being liquids. However, most developed countries have measures in place to ensure that's not an issue with medication.

I travel every week for work and never check a bag unless I'm staying 7+ days. My general rule of thumb with planning for supplies is to pack at least 2x what I think I'd need and preferably 3x if I have room.

I go through X-ray machines 100+ times a year and so does my dexcom, glucometer, and everything else I travel with. The chances of malfunction exist but they're so astronomically low it's not worth worrying about (for me).
 
Thats a great help. I try to pack double what i need!
 
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