Travelling Abroad

8 posts, 6 contributors

Search the DAFNE Online Forums

 
adamrea DAFNE Graduate
Croydon NHS
3 posts

Good Afternoon All

I am due to go on my first holiday since finding i am a type 1 diabetic. I am travelling to Brazil in early june and was wondering if anyone can offer advice into what i need to do.

- Can i take medication on the plane?
- Will my QA & BI need to be adjusted due to temperatures?

Any other travel advice would be great

Many Thanks

Adam

Garry DAFNE Graduate
North Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust
328 posts

Welcome adamrea Smile
You can take your medication with you on board. Declare your sharps at the desk when checking in though. Best carry a covering letter from your Health care Professionals too. I have killed my spare insulin in the past when travelling, through too high temperatures, so now use a Frio insulin wallet. Buy from Frio direct and it may be a little cheaper, as think it is VAT free. Boon is, the wallet just needs soaking in water to activate the cooling gel. Make sure it is not enclosed so the water can evaporate - the latent heat of evaporation does the cooling and will keep your pens cool enough in elevated temperatures. Good instructions with the product. Other makes out there also.
If in a hotel with a drinks fridge in your room, you can keep spare insulins in there whilst out and about. Use caution however and satisfy yourself that the fridge will not overchill your pens/phials. Put a glass of water in there overnight as a check to make sure the temperature is suitable. Must be no lower than 3° C...so make sure no mushy water in the glass next morning. Use the top of the fridge which is normally the warmest.
Almost sure that you will need alter doses whilst you are away, for lots of reasons...temperature, foods, exercise...or lack of it!
Keep an eye on your bloods for sure, but most of all have a good time and enjoy yourself.
Regards
Garry

michaelj DAFNE Graduate
South East Kent PCT
45 posts

Adam,
Travelling abroad needn't be a big problem as I've been to New Zealand three times plus other parts of the world including America and not had any problems. Firstly get yourself some Frio cool wallets as they are very good at keeping Insulin at reasonable temperatures in hot climates when travelling. Can be got from the Medical shop on Amazon. Insulin can go off if it gets to hot.
I usually keep my watch at UK time for the first 24 hours so I can gradually change to local time.You may have to take your basal in smaller but more often doses until you change time completely. Take Bolus when you eat.as per normal
I've never had a problem with injections or blood testing on an aircraft but if you get funny looks from other passengers use the loo's they are usually clean enough, or do as I do and ignore them. Keep all medication and testing gear with you including spares. Most important as stuff does go astray
You may find you will need to increase your insulin as holidays tend to be more about relaxation (unless you plan to climb to the statue of Christ.) Test strips have a temperature limitation so check yours and get a small cool pack or bag to keep them in if you think they may be affected.
Don't bother with diabetic meals on aircraft as they are usually prepared by someone who has no idea what you need. There will be enough carbohydrate for your short term needs on the meal tray.
Get yourself some Glucojuice from Boots the Chemist for fast acting blood sugar raising (these are not large and easy to carry) and some of their flap jack bars in their healthy eating range good for short term lunch or meal fixes.
It will pay to mention you are carrying sharps when you check in and again when you go through security. They don't usually worry, but if you tell them, you forestall any problems if they decide to pick on your bag.
Can't think of anything else at the moment so enjoy yourself, and try not to worry.

Garry DAFNE Graduate
North Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust
328 posts

Good point michaelj makes adamrea...as I forgot to mention how temperature can affect your BG meter and test strips.
Might be 15 or 16 years ago...couldn't get my meter to work after several days of high temperatures in the south of France.
The Pharmacist in the nearest large village was very helpful though, explaining that he had had lots of experience of test strip failures that summer and he supplied me with new strips off his air-conditioned pharmacy shelf. Don't remember the exact cost...but it was painful!
Regards
Garry

adamrea DAFNE Graduate
Croydon NHS
3 posts

Garry and Michael. Thankyou so much for your quick response.interesting points you make very good to know. I had a look at the wallets just now online, looks like exactly what I need. I do indeed want to avoid any nasty prices incase I need replacement stuff so I will certainly use your tips.
Interesting note in terms of time adjustments that is one for me to think of and plan.i guess part of the doses will be judging and seeing what suits my needs.
You have certainly put my mind at ease in relation to the trip. Thankyou once again !!

Adam

Teanosugar DAFNE Graduate
North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust
25 posts

I've traveled a lot round Europe with type 1 and I normally find it's coming back that is a pain. People in overseas airports are a nightmare when it comes to explaining about needles, medication etc. My additional advice is as follows:

- If possible, get a doctor's note on NHS headed paper saying that you're diabetic and need to carry medication with you which may include liquid form medication (my specialist did this for free)
- Take out insurance through Diabetes UK and declare all your pre-existing conditions
- Carry with you your insurance emergency telephone number and other telephone numbers of people back home who you may need to ring in crisis
- Know the emergency telephone numbers such as the police, ambulance etc.
- Know the telephone number for the British Embassy in Brazil
- Learn some useful, relevant phrases in Brazilian Portuguese such as how to say sugar, diabetic etc.
- Take more than enough of every single type of medication you use; even if you've not used it in ages. Particularly if you have medication for stomach troubles.
- If you're going with a friend, relative partner etc. make sure they know how to treat a hypo properly. Many people don't and it could save lives!
- Buy a guidebook for the place you're visiting


While some of these may sound a little over the top, they are all important. It will give you peace of mind, too.

Boa viagem! :-)

Punk DAFNE Graduate
Diabetes Australia-Vic, Melbourne, Victoria
1 post

Can I suggest that It can be very beneficial telling the airline companies that you DO have type 1 Diabetes for the very reason that on two trips my wife and I have been able to use this fact to, firstly, stop us from being taken off a plane because they have over booked, and secondly, to make sure we got on our plane from Hong Kong to Paris after a hurricane had delayed all flights out of Hong Kong and the airport was in a complete shambles. When you say you have TYPE 1 DIABETES it seems to pull a few more strings as far as preferential treatment is concerned. True, I have had some pretty awful "diabetic" meals on some aircrafts but you can always ask for some bread rolls or someone elses "sweets" if you are looking for more carbohydrates. The meals are, however, improving as more and more diabetics are travelling all around the world.

David Paine 1 post

Just got back from 3 weeks travelling from Australia to Brazil. It probably depends who you fly with, but Emirates are fantastic for T1 diabetics.They also have good diabetic meals and bring them out before any of the other meals. I carried all my Lantus and Novo Rapid in a tupperware container with an ice pack in it. After boarding the aircraft, the flight attendants put a sticker on my tupperware container and stuck it in the chilled compartment for me access whenever I needed. I split my supplies when I arrived and carried this tupperware container on my travels away from Rio base.
Specifically for Brazil;
- it is really hard to find coffee without half a cup of sugar in it by default - so make sure you let them know you don't want sugar
- 'comida a quilo' - is a common type of restaurant which has a large variety of foods which have a pay-by-weight payment system and really good for diabetics to dine;
- artificial sweetener 'adoçante' (pronounced ar-do-sun-gee) is a useful substitute for the sugar in Caipirinhas. Many of the street vendors stock it - only a few drops are needed per drink.
Finally, don't forget to wear some sort of ID. I have one of those mediband wristbands and inverted it when I went out running.
Have fun in Brazil! Enjoy the WC!