1. Plan ahead and talk to your doctor
Get the required documents from your healthcare provider
Packing the essentials
For insulin users
If you are not on insulin
First-aid kit containing
Glucose monitoring kit (if you use one)
Eating and drinking on the go
Diabetes and Travel
Living with diabetes does not mean you cannot lead a normal life and that includes traveling for both work and leisure. Taking due precautions and planning in advance will help
to ensure that your trip is smooth and successful and that your diabetes does not prove to be a barrier in your enjoyment. Here are some tips to help you travel hassle free.
In case you are planning to embark on a journey encompassing more than 3-4 days or if you are planning a foreign trip, then you should plan for a checkup and a meeting with
your healthcare provider at least four to six weeks before the trip. This will help your doctor give you the right immunisations for the trip, or check for any pending changes in
medication or doses before you leave.
Ask your doctor to help you prepare a travel first-aid kit that includes medication for vomiting, diarrhea, cold and other common travel-related illnesses. Also discuss how you
might have to adjust dosage or medication depending upon changes in time zones. Remember to carry a prescription for all the medicines and the medical supplies that you
may require while you are travelling.
You will have to ask your doctor for an official letter stating that you have diabetes. Moreover, you need to carry certain medical supplies with you at all times in your hand
luggage. The letter should give a list of all the medical supplies that you may need to carry, ranging from medication, insulin, syringes and lancets to glucose meters.
Remember that you will not be able to carry your medicines on any national or international flight without this letter. You will also need to get diabetes identification in the native
languages of the countries that you will be visiting.
Apart from carrying a letter from your doctor and your diabetes identification, some things that you will definitely need to pack are listed here. Make sure that all these are in
your hand luggage so that they have a lesser chance of getting lost or damaged and are also easily available for use during emergencies.
Store properly labelled vials of insulin in an insulated bag, along with syringes and cotton swabs. Most security checks will only allow vials that carry their original packing and
labels, so keep the vials in the cartons that they came in with the original labeling intact on the bottles.
Carry double the amount that you think you will need and put some in your travelling companion’s hand baggage once you are done with the security check. If you use an
insulin pump, then carry all peripherals ranging from infusion kits, needles and catheters to spare tubing, cleaning agents and batteries.
Carry double the amount of medicines that you think you will need, along with their prescription and labeling.
Properly labelled Glucagon emergency kit
Painkillers
Medication for cold, diarrhea, travel sickness
Band-aids, cotton, gauze and antibacterial ointment
Properly labelled, along with lancets, testing strips and alcohol swabs.
Travelling may not let you follow your diet plans to the extent you would like to. Sometimes food that you would want to have may not be readily available and sometimes your
meal timings may not be entirely under your control. What can you do to ensure that you eat right and drink right even while travelling?
Not eating properly or on time can lead to hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia, both of which will turn your travel plans awry. To avoid hyperglycemia, keep your activity levels as
close to normal as possible and take your medications on time.
Carry snacks and food in your hand luggage so that you have some food handy, which ensure that your blood sugar levels never drop. Apart from carrying glucose and sugar
candies for instantly raising your blood sugar levels in case of hypoglycemia, carry snacks like almonds, raisins, cheese crackers, high fiber biscuits and other dry fruits.
Keep eating at regular intervals of two hours. Choosing from healthy options like sandwiches, salads and fruits as snacks to avoid hypoglycemia.
Try sticking to your regular mealtimes as much as possible to avoid sudden changes in blood sugar.
Being well hydrated, especially during air travel, is important to avoid dehydration due to increased cabin pressure. To avoid dehydration and motion sickness, keep mixing
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Dealing with changes in physical activity
What to do in case you fall ill/in case of emergencies?
sugar-free electrolyte drinks in your bottled water.
Avoid eating from roadside stalls or from stalls that serve stale food. Remember that even a small bout of diarrhea can play havoc with your blood sugar levels while traveling
and should therefore be avoided at all costs.
Do not consume even a single drop of non-purified water and use bottled water not just for drinking but also for brushing your teeth. Do not take ice with your bottled water.
Eat vegetables that are freshly cooked and fruits that can be peeled before eating.
When you travel by air or in a train, hours of sitting or lying down may send your blood sugar levels shooting up. To avoid this, make sure that you walk for at least ten minutes
after a period of every two hours when inside the cabin. You should also indulge in some exercises that can be done while sitting when you are flying, especially if you have
neuropathy or if you experience tingling or numbness in your arms and legs.
Even in spite of taking all precautions, change in activity levels, food and drink may lead to hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia or diarrhea. Monitoring and controlling your blood
sugar levels and keeping yourself hydrated are of prime importance in such cases. Use the medicines that your doctor had prescribed for these conditions and give him a call to
report your status and ask him about how to deal with your illness. Remember to take contact details and addresses of local hospitals at your destination even before you leave
from the home and see a local doctor before things get out of hand.
Having diabetes does not mean that you cannot lead a normal life, which includes travel and vacations. Traveling with diabetes is neither tough nor impossible, but it does
involve some planning and precautions. A few simple precautions and your HCP’s guidance can help you make your travel fruitful and enjoyable, just as it used to be earlier.
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