Tips for diabetes care while traveling

July 9, 2015
travel care for diabetes

Tips for diabetes care while traveling

Traveling with diabetes is comfortable and safe as long as you plan carefully. Good planning includes taking to your health care provider and doing a little research before leaving, careful packing, and knowing about airport security.

What to do before leaving on your trip:

  • Talk to your health care provider about your travel plans.
  • If you’re on insulin, ask about getting a prescription for a glucagon kit.
  • Make sure your immunizations, your immunization record and your written health record are up to date, especially if traveling abroad.
  • Make sure that all medications you carry and all diabetes supplies have their prescription labels on them.
  • If you use a daily or weekly medication reminder pack, take the original prescription labels with you.
  • Refill any prescriptions that may expire during your travel.
  • Keep your health insurance cared on you at all times. Review health insurance policy for travel information.

If you’re traveling by airplane:

  •  Look for information about using a blood glucose meter, insulin pump or personal continuous glucose monitor (CGM) on a plane.
  • Bring enough supplies and medications to last longer than the length of your trip.
  • You will need extras if you have travel delays or lose some supplies.
  • Keep supplies including insulin in a carry-on bag.
  • To prevent freezing, don’t put your insulin in checked baggage.
  • Bring food to help prevent low blood sugar in a case you miss a meal.
  • Bring treatment for low blood sugar.
  • Give yourself extra time in airports. Some security screeners don’t know about insulin deliver mechanisms and blood glucose monitoring, so delays can happen.
  • If you’re wearing an insulin pump and you have diabetes supplies with you, tell the security staff that you have diabetes.
  • If the screeners or other security staff questions you, ask to speak with a supervisor.
  • Don’t send your insulin pump or continuous glucose monitor through X-ray machines.
  • Disconnect them if you go through an airport body scanner.
  • You may request a pat-down screening if you don’t want to remove or can’t remove your device.

Travel tips:

  • Monitor your blood glucose more often than you usually do.
  • If you’re not sure, ask your health care provider before you travel.
  • Stay as close to your usual schedule as much as possible.
  • Check the time settings on your meter and pump. Change if needed.
  • During travel and while at your location, don’t leave insulin and temperature-sensitive supplies in a car or any place that could have temperature changes.
  • Check with the manufacturer of your supplies for any specific warnings about temperature.

source:Peggy Moreland, R.N. , www.mayoclinic.org

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