Hi,
I'll be travelling far in a few months and I was wondering if there's something I should be aware of.
I already have a declaration from my specialist which also states that I may not go through x-ray machines and should be pat down by a person instead.
I was also advised to bring 3x of what I think I'll need. I won't be bringing 3x with me but I'll make sure to bring spares and spares for the spares. Just in case something breaks, I'll have spares for that too (e.g. pump base).
I don't know which company I'll be flying with (yet) as I'm still looking at tickets. The flight is expected to take around ~20 hours so I'll be up there for quite a while
Is there something I should let either of the airports know or ask about? Is there anything "special" I can request (like a seat hehe)? Does anything require me to call them in advance?
Thank you
I can second that comment. Only did it once (out of curiosity) and once was more than enough.Don’t order the diabetic meal, if offered!
I do not. Do you have any recommendations?Do you have a method of keeping insulin cool ?
It's for my pump but I'll be carrying needles with me as well just in case. Good to know I can just use an empty water bottle.Not sure if your concern about X-rays is because of a pump or a monitor but if you are using needles, an empty 330ml water bottle is a good receptacle for sharps.
That does indeed sound like a good ideaLet your travel insurance company know.
I do indeed use a pump and did not realize this was something to keep in mind. I'll give them a call to ask them about it!Sounds like you use a pump, you need check how the altered cabin pressure affects it.
This is my biggest concern but it sounds like I'll be doing alright if I bring enough spares of everything and have easy access to sugar (on person/hip bag).And if you are using cgm sensors, I recommend you have enough so that you can have at least two fail on start up. It happens, and sourcing replacement sensors is very hard (impossible in my experience) when away from home.
I expect to be away for 3 weeks. The country is known to be warm but I'll be visiting when it's colder. I'll be in a house so my insulin can be put back in a fridge upon arrival until I leave. Is it okay to have insulin out of the fridge for around 20 hours (1 layover) if I can get it back in the fridge within 2 hours upon landing?How long are you going to be away for @Gardevoir ?
I don't normally worry about temperature on the flight because the cabin is temperature controlled.
You could investigate frio bags if you are going somewhere hot?
Remember that most insulins are OK out of the fridge for a month so my main worry would be if it was going to be sitting somewhere in extreme heat or cold. (I would never put my insulin in the hold, both because it might get lost and also because I don't know how cold it would get there.)
I always keep my insulin in Frio wallets, you use cold water from a tap. I've been in temperatures up to 42C and down to before freezing and they keep your insulin cool. At Heathrow in September due the first time I was asked to taken them out of the Frio to show security but no issues.I went abroad recently to feurteventura, admittedly it was only for a week so everything fit in my carry on backpack but the temperature over there was around 30-35 degrees and my insulin had been out of the fridge for roughly 18 hours by the time I got it back in the fridge and it was absolutely fine.
I put everything in my backpack all in separate clear bags for each item (infusion sets, needles, insulin, CGM sensors etc). Most airports and airport personnel are ever aware of diabetics and what they carry and that most cannot go through X-ray. I carry my letter but I’ve never needed to actually use it. My CGM supplies couldn’t go through X-ray so I passed them to one of the workers and said as such and they placed them in a box with a no X-ray sign. The airport I went to also no longer had the old style metal detectors just the stand up full body X-ray machines so I just told someone I couldn’t go through that, they patted me down and swabbed my pump/CGM extremely quickly. My bag of supplies went through X-ray fine and the non x-ray items were swabbed and handed back to me promptly.
Diabetics who can’t go through X-ray are much more common these days and I think airport staff are very used to it and the processes that go along with that.
I just spent 15 minutes trying to find out any reliable source that would confirm this. The only source I found were some claims at forums like this. No official source seems to mention any special precautions regarding insulin or its "potency" and x-ray checks on the airport (unlike when it comes to insulin pumps, which are not to be put through an x-ray airport scanner). So, what's the source of the claim of it "drastically losing its potency"?Spare insulin will be fine in your hand luggage for 24 hours, but ensure it does not go near the x ray machines as the insulin will drastically lose it's potency.
20 years of personal experience, and several hospital visits with DKA from my insulin not working properly after going through x rays. Two different diabetic specialist nurses have also warned against it, and manufacturers do not recommend putting insulin through x rays. It may not be proven fact yet, but it's not a risk anyone should be taking, especially since it is proven that x rays denature proteins similar to insulin. I always keep spare insulin separate with my pump and sensors now and they swab it and move on no problem.I just spent 15 minutes trying to find out any reliable source that would confirm this. The only source I found were some claims at forums like this. No official source seems to mention any special precautions regarding insulin or its "potency" and x-ray checks on the airport (unlike when it comes to insulin pumps, which are not to be put through an x-ray airport scanner). So, what's the source of the claim of it "drastically losing its potency"?
I'm not able to advise on advance engagement with airports. I always take a doctor's letter with me, but don't think I've ever been asked to show it. However, building on urbanracer's suggestion, I'd absolutely recommend taking your prescription with you too. I didn't always do this in the past but had an alarming experience at Auckland airport in 2013 when a check-in operator gave the impression that she wouldn't let me take my insulin and injecting devices into the cabin for my return flight to the UK unless I proved that they were prescription medicine, which would basically have prevented me boarding as I clearly wouldn't have been willing to go nearly 30 hours without insulin!Hi,
I'll be travelling far in a few months and I was wondering if there's something I should be aware of.
I already have a declaration from my specialist which also states that I may not go through x-ray machines and should be pat down by a person instead.
I was also advised to bring 3x of what I think I'll need. I won't be bringing 3x with me but I'll make sure to bring spares and spares for the spares. Just in case something breaks, I'll have spares for that too (e.g. pump base).
I don't know which company I'll be flying with (yet) as I'm still looking at tickets. The flight is expected to take around ~20 hours so I'll be up there for quite a while
Is there something I should let either of the airports know or ask about? Is there anything "special" I can request (like a seat hehe)? Does anything require me to call them in advance?
Thank you
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