LIVING
Before I went away I created an
amazing spreadsheet to calculate my
medical supplies that I was fully prepared,
or so I thought. Do not underestimate how
much your eating habits may change and
you will need more insulin and equipment
that you expected. How much? No idea!
But have enough spares to last you two
additional months, which should be
enough to get you out of trouble if needed.
Keeping cool: Insulin is hardier than you
may expect, especially Humalog, but you
do need to take care of it. I took a couple
of Frio cool bags with me that did a great
job at keeping my Insulin cool, but not
fridge cool. When possible I stored my
insulin in a fridge but this was not always
possible, the majority of the time keeping
in the Frio bag in the shade did the job.
Insulin will not just stop working once it
has had enough - it's more likely that its
action will degrade over time -- therefore
you must keep a close eye on your blood
readings and adjust your dose based on
the sensitivity of the insulin. If you are in
an unfamiliar part of the world, you are on
your own and no one cares about your
situation, you will have to make do with
what you've got.
My top tip for insulin care when you
are travelling is never to put all your insulin
in one place. One particularly unfortunate
event occurred when I put my insulin
in a fridge in the hotel I was staying in
and the next morning it was frozen.
Freezing insulin really is not good as it can
completely deactivate it. I should have put
the majority in the fridge and kept at least
one bottle left in a Frio bag in my room.
Had I done that I would have had enough
with me while I looked for new insulin.
Storage: Keeping organised with your
medical supplies means you can avoid
issues and reduce stress so you can
enjoy your trip. Seeing it and knowing you
have enough supplies is a real confidence
booster. I used eBags and waterproof zip
bags to organise and easily identify my
medication and kit, which was a great
help. Surprisingly the heat and humidity
while travelling caused no issues with my
meds. One tip as you start to get towards
the end of the trip and have collected
too many souvenirs to carry, airports and
hotels can arrange for storage for any
unneeded bags for a few weeks. We did
this in China and Burma and it was a great
help! But, don't be silly and keep all your
spare medication in this bag, as you never
know what may happen to it while you are
away.
Kit: You may struggle with purchasing
supplies as you travel. Even if your brand
is available you may find its been adjusted
to work only for that region. I discovered
that was the case with my Roche blood
testing strips. Small things like a needle
clipper, a spare Frio bag, supplies of
Hypogel are a God-send when needed!
Security: Insulin pumps and blood test
meters are sensitive medical equipment
and it's advised that you keep them
away from the metal detectors and X-ray
machines you get at airports. While I think
this is possibly unnecessary, it's not worth
the risk of finding out. I had very little
issue with getting past airport security or
shopping mall or public transport checks.
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