I have never flown on a commercial airline before and I was wondering if anyone had any tips for me on packing my insulin and other diabetic supplies in my carry-on. Can someone help any advice on flying with Diabetes would be helpful.
We did it last summer. We brought juice boxes galore and kept insulin in an insulated soft lunch cooler with freezer packs. A couple security agents asked but we just told them our daughter has diabetes and needed the supplies to survive the flight. They waved us through no problem. Three airports. Three countries. We made sure we had her prescriptions and glucagon pen.
I've traveled a lot with diabetes, this is what I do: I pack all of my pump supplies except my insulin in a clear make up bag / toiletry container (it's about 6 inches long and three inches high). I put a copy of my travel letter in there too. I put my insulin in my liquid bag but I keep it in the original box. I haven't flown since the new TSA regulations, but I just tell the screener that I have a pump and most of the time they let me through with no problems. Also both my parents carry a copy of the travel letter with them as well, just in case something happens to mine. Make sure you have extra snacks because your flight might get delayed or you could have a tight connection and not have time to eat. Good luck and have fun :)
Putting your D supplies in a separate bag can help going thru security. You can ask if they want to see it and it is then easy for you to pull out of your main carry-on if so. Same for juice boxes or water. You are allowed them because of your D but a separate bag/cooler for them is a good idea. (You probably won't have to do any of that, but just in case, it will be less stressful for you.) Also remember to have 2x the number of supplies you need for your trip, just in case.
Me and my d travel well together. Granted I don't have a travel letter. Is that something you have from your doctor that says you are a person with diabetes and such? Cause something like that may be a good thing to try and get my doctor to sign and such. I haven't gone out since they changed to the newest bit of screenings with body scanners and such, but I never had trouble before that. My old pump Paradigm 722 never set off the alarm, my Ping sometimes does and I just handle the pat down with chagrin. I also remember now to remove the metal belt clip. that helps sometimes. As for my supplies to be honest with you, they are all packed in my carry on. Insulin in boxes, back up infusion sets and syringes and such. I just my carry on through without even telling them I have it and have yet to have any trouble with it. If nothing else and they call me on it. I will just say oh sorry, I forgot... It really is not all that scary, but if you do accidentally set off the alarm the first time it is just odd, but the people are usually nice apologizing the entire time even when they see the pump and everything.
Never had an issue traveling with my diabetes stuff. Don't disconnect my pump when going through metal detector, don't have a letter from my doctor. You'll be fine.
Hope you're flying SWA
My teenager has flown to/from Munich and Barcelona since diagnosis and has had no problems. He is not on a pump. He packs all the diabetes supplies in a separate bag. He further puts all the insulin vials in a small insulated lunchbox just in case, but that's probably overkill on my part. (If you've ever sat on the tarmac for several hours, you know that a plane can really heat up.) He has a travel letter but has never had to show it to anybody. He just holds the extra bag up before putting it in the scanner and says, "This has diabetic supplies in it."
We've been advised when traveling to take 50% more supplies than what you think you'll need for the entire trip. We've been advised to carry on all supplies---luggage can get lost. I think for his 12-day trip to Barcelona in December, we did put about half of the syringes in his luggage cause it just took up too much space. We figured if he had half of the syringes he needed, he'd have plenty of time to figure out how to get more if his luggage got lost.
One tip we've been given is that if you have to inject while on a plane, do not inject air into the vial. The pressure is different and can make it harder to accurately pull the plunger out to the right measurement.
If you have any other specific questions, just ask
I've traveled through airports many times and I actually just traveled last weekend and it wasn't too bad but some of the new security was aggrevating. I have an Animas Ping pump and it ALWAYS sets off the detectors... including the new ones. Not a huge deal though, you just have to deal with the pat down and they usually wipe my pump and hands with a towel and then do some kind of check to make sure its not explosive... (which i find quite humorous)... I usually always fly out of Newark airport in NJ and i have to say even though my pump sets off the alarm the staff there have never been rude or given me a hard time... going through Raleigh, NC airport with the new detectors this past trip was where i ran into some trouble. The staff was a bit rude, i think mostly because there was a lot of confusion since nobody knew how to properly go through the new machines (and there was a lack of instruction from the staff).
If I were you I would pack my supplies together and just send them through in your bag like normal.. they have never asked me to show the letter (but I have it incase) and they never seem to stop my bag bc of the needles or insulin..
Most importantly I would say make sure you have the right attitude going through... expect for them to take you aside and check everything out and just roll with it.. not much else you can do it you want to travel.. it'll just be worse if you get upset or angry with them and after all it is their job to double check..
Good luck! Have a nice trip! =)
I've traveled on airplanes a lot with diabetes including trips to London, Barcelona, and Geneva. I have never run into any problem in regards to security. I put my tester, insulin, etc. in my carry on and push the whole thing through the metal detector. I don't tell them anything. I do have my Rx with me sometimes. I always bring the insulin boxes which have the RX info on it. I don't put my insulin in a cooler or anything. I'd have to look, but I believe it's safe up to 80 degrees or so. I only bring a few syringes with me and put the rest in my checked bag.
I don't have a pump or CGM so can't speak to that. I did see a sign at the airport last week saying that if you had a pacemaker or medical device to do something (didn't pay that close attention). If I had a pump or CGM I'd probably do that.
My advice would be to not make a big deal out of it or call attention to your self and they'll probably never know.