NevilleAdsa
Newbie
- Messages
- 4
- Type of diabetes
- Type 1
Newly diagnosed type 1, on holiday to Thailand in three weeks time. Any advice please? Thanks
Charming I think I will stick with Cornwall.For Thailand specifically (as I know this has happened to me and other T1s), watch out for food poisoning, and make sure you are aware of how to handle yourself in the advent of eating and injecting with insulin, and then vomiting, when you still have insulin on board.
I'd suggest that it's worth making sure you have plenty of coca-cola ready in your room. It doesn't matter if you don't drink it, it's just easier to keep down than dextrose tablets (speaking from bitter experience) and does manage that kind of situation reasonably well.
Hi @NevilleAdsa Welcome to the forum.
Firstly do you want your thread moving to 'Type 1' for more visibility ?
Ask at your doctor's surgery or local chemist for a sharps disposal container. It snips the needle off and contains it inside. They cost nothing and are very useful when travelling.The usual advice for any travel is
- get a letter from your doctor declaring you have diabetes and need to carry needles on flights. I have only had to show this once but security are unpredictable so always carry it
- make sure your travel insurance covers diabetes
- pack twice as much kit as you think you need ... and keep it in your hand luggage.
- take an alternative way to take your insulin in case your pump/pen fails: if you have a pump, you may be able to get a loaner; if you have pens, take two for each insulin type
- if you have a pump, do not let it be x-rayed. Pens, etc, are fine
- keep your insulin cool. The best solution for this is Frio bags (https://friouk.com/). I have travelled all around the world with these and had no problems.
- as you are on holiday, your routine, food and, maybe, alcohol consumption will be different to usual. So keep a close eye on your BG levels
- use an old water bottle to store your used sharps. This can go in your luggage to be decanted into your sharps bin when you return
- some people suggest finding out about diabetes in the country you are travelling to: what is "diabetes" in the local language? do they have an equivalent to Diabetes UK or JDRF to contact in emergency? ... I have never bothered.
And, as @Freema says, have an amazing time.
I used to have one of these but lancets were too thick so I still had sharps from them and it left the point in the "head" of the needle which I thought was still dangerous (if you turned the plastic bit over, you could catch yourself on the sharp bit inside). Therefore, as I gained nothing from the clipper, I saw it a waste of NHS funds. Perhaps they have improved?Ask at your doctor's surgery or local chemist for a sharps disposal container. It snips the needle off and contains it inside. They cost nothing and are very useful when travelling.