10 Things You Should Do While Traveling With Diabetes Supplies
By Gary Sanders
A lot of people do not understand the true importance of carrying all supplies required, while traveling. It is one thing if you merely travel from home to workplace and back everyday. In that case, it becomes easy for you to regulate your medication schedule and keep supplies handy all the time. But if you are traveling outside your city or country, you should be very particular to see that you carry your supplies with you and never run out of your medication ever.

The American Association (ADA), in conjunction with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), has chalked out a set of tips you can follow, so that you are safe and danger-free all through the period of your travel.


Both the organizations have joined hands to ensure that passengers traveling by airplanes carry their medical supplies and equipment with them in their hand luggage. They also see to it that there is no trouble given to patients who evidently suffer from this disorder, even during times when there is a security threat in some way.

In case you are diabetic and desperately need to carry medication and other equipment with you while traveling, please do the following:

1. Arrive at the airport about 2-3 hours before departure, so that you have enough time for a detailed inspection at various checkpoints, if need be.

2. Be patient if the whole process takes time – some newer security measures are stringent and it will be in your best interest to co-operate to the fullest extent.

3. Let the authorities (especially the screener) know that you are carrying medication with you. So you will have no trouble

passing through various checkpoints.

4. Insulin should not be packed away in cargo. Also, though it can safely pass through X-ray, it cannot be exposed to it for very long periods of time. So you could request hand-inspection instead.

5. Liquid medication, emergency kits and apparatus such as insulin dispensing products or syringes should be identified with the label containing them. Further, the products’ names should match that mentioned in your ticket.

6. If the liquids or gels to treat hypoglycemia are more than 3 ounces, you need to declare these with the security personnel. Additionally, you could also carry some sweets or candies with you, to treat sudden and unexpected hypoglycemia.

7. Blood sugar monitors, strips, alcohol swabs, lancets, insulin pumps and their cleaning agents, catheters and needles, infusion kits and batteries too need to be declared with the concerned security personnel.

8. You may be asked to go through a visual inspection or frisking if you use an insulin pump. Do inform the personnel that you cannot remove the pump as it is attached to a catheter inserted under the skin. Insulin pumps must also be labeled correctly.

9. Before a visual inspection, keep your medication in a separate pouch, so as to avoid confusion. In case the label is not very clear, it will have to be X-rayed and inspected.

10. Incase you develop hypoglycemia anytime during of after the security check, inform the personnel about your problem without delay.

Follow the above-mentioned tips while traveling with your supplies and rest assured, you will have a safe and comfortable journey!
Gary Sanders is diabetes sufferer. He has dedicated the last decade of his life to mastering every aspect of diabetes including nutrition, diabetes supplies, symptoms of diabetes, diagnosis, and prevention. He has created an award winning guide that is available at DiabetesSymptomsGuide.com