First long haul flight with T1 daughter

L

Liltzero

Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Parent
Hi there
Grateful for any advice for travelling with my type 1 daughter. It’s a 12 hour flight and we have not flown since the diagnosis.
She has the Omnipod pump so I don’t know if there are any special considerations?
I will get a list of her prescribed medication but is there any other documentation I should take?
We’re off to Mauritius .
Thank you
 
Flying with Type 1 diabetes is not much of an issue. I have done it, literally, 100s of times.
The general advice is
- take at least twice as much diabetes supplies as you think you may need. This includes back up insulin pens in case your daughter encounters a problem with the OmniPod.
- Keep ALL diabetes kit in your hand luggage. As your daughter is a child, this could be spread amongst the hand luggage of the family.
- There is no need to tell airlines or airport security unless they explicitly ask or if you want to.
- It is recommended to have a letter from your doctor. I have been asked for this once in 20 years but as it is written to be used again and again, it is no hardship carrying it with my passport, just in case. You will find that GPs will charge for this letter but the diabetes clinic will not.
- Some people carry a copy of their prescription with them. This could replace your list of medication which is something I have never considered.
- Remember to change the time on your OmniPod PDM to the local time. You may want to do this on the flight or on arrival.
- Keep hypo treatment with you in your seat. Do not leave it in the overhead locker.
- Keep the insulin cool in transit and on arrival. I generally just make sure it is in the middle of my day pack so well insulated. But you may want to get something like a Frio wallet. Personally, I do not trust hotel fridges.
- Have a great time.
 
That is brilliant- thanks so much for all that advice. Regarding the letter mentioned- what do they need to say? Just confirming that she has T1 diabetes treated with insulin?
Thank you!
 
Our DSN does a whole support package for travelling including a letter so do contact your team and get their involvement. Don’t forget your ketone monitor. We eyeball carbs but some people like to take scales to be more accurate. You can get a sunflower lanyard and go through the quieter bit of security at the airport. Don’t forget heat can cause glucose levels to change so be prepared for things to be less predictable while on holiday and try to go with the flow.

Have a lovely time.
 
Remember a different diet and even bottled water can have different mineral composition from what you might be used to so can cause stomach upset which can have an impact, so be prepared for that.
 
Take some snacks in hand luggage, going low on flights is not great as it's often hard to get something in ther airport/on the flight when you need it. Make sure any snacks are not things that might be seized at the airport (e.g. things with nuts or fruit for example.)

I always run low when travelling, but everyone's different. I reduce my basal and bolus when travelling, usually it works well, but if I run slightly higher than I want to that's better than running low.
 
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