From beyondtype1.org
By Christine Fallabel
Travel season is quickly approaching, and a lot of people will be racking up frequent flyer miles in the coming months. Air travel can seem miraculous: you wake up in your regular bed, in your regular town and can go to sleep across the country or even the world, just a few hours later.
But like with any kind of travel, flying doesn’t come without hiccups. Delayed and cancelled flights, bad weather, mechanical issues, and missed connections can leave travellers stuck this summer. And for people living with diabetes, those hiccups can spell danger.
If you find yourself separated from your diabetes supplies—and most importantly, your insulin—it can turn into an emergency quickly.
This article will tell you exactly what you should do if you find yourself stranded at the airport without insulin.
Maybe you missed your connection, and your checked luggage with your supply of insulin went with it. Maybe your flight got rerouted. Maybe you forgot your insulin at home. Maybe your site is ripped out and you don’t have any insulin in your carry-on bag.
Try not to panic. You are not powerless in this situation, especially if you’re still within the United States, where diabetes is a protected disability.
Start by assessing your physical state and how you feel. If you can check your blood sugar or have access to your continuous glucose monitor (CGM), make sure you’re within a healthy and safe range.
Next, hydrate
If your blood sugar is rising and you’re without any insulin (your insulin pump reservoir is empty or has been pulled out, or all your syringes and vials aren’t within reach), start drinking water immediately. Hydration is key.
Hydrating won’t lower your blood sugar, but it can help you manage a spiralling high blood sugar in the short term. It will also help prevent dehydration, which can contribute to life-threatening diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). So, drink up!
This is the part where you ask for help
Ask for help immediately. Do not wait, and do not apologize.
Even if your blood sugar is lower than 100 mg/dL, you will need insulin eventually. Airports are staffed environments with layers of support—and for good reason!
Millions of people with many different types of chronic conditions pass through airports every single day, and you aren’t the first person with diabetes to find themselves without their insulin.
- Find an airport employee, go to the information desk, or ask an airline for a supervisor. Explain the situation: you have insulin-dependent diabetes, and you’re without your insulin. Explain that it is a medical necessity.
- Some airports have pharmacies where you may be able to get an emergency supply of insulin. If not, most airports have first aid stations that are equipped to deal with medical emergencies, including diabetes. If nothing is available on-site, airport employees can connect you with local emergency services.
- On-site paramedics can assess your condition and, if necessary, transport you to a nearby hospital where insulin is available. If you’re hesitant about the cost or escalation, remember that untreated high blood sugar levels can become dangerous quickly. This is not an overreaction, and your health comes first.
- Lastly, you can also talk with your airline. While they’re not medical providers, they do commit to passenger safety, especially if you’re stranded without insulin on a layover.
In some cases, they may be able to help you with the logistics of your travel: rebooking a flight, helping you exit the airport and re-enter security more smoothly or connecting you with airport medical resources more quickly.
Keep your phone charged and ready
If you’re able, use your phone as a lifeline. Call your doctor, who may be able to send a prescription to a nearby pharmacy for an emergency pickup.
Sometimes pharmacists can fill an emergency supply of insulin without a prescription, depending on your state.
You can use your phone to map out the closest pharmacy and medical center to the airport where you’re located.
Leave the airport if you need to
Understandably, you may be hesitant to leave the airport. But forget about the logistics of your trip and remember that your health is the priority. Flights can always be rebooked. Accept that your travel plans might get derailed due to your diabetes, and that’s okay. So leave the airport if you need to.
If you have family or friends in the city where you’re stuck, they may also be able to help. A trusted loved one may be able to drive you for medical care or to a pharmacy.
Especially if you’ve let your airline know what’s going on, you should be able to re-enter the airport and catch your connection if your layover is long enough.
Don’t keep this to yourself
If you’re traveling with others, let them know what’s going on. It doesn’t help anyone to stress alone, and people almost always want to help.
Whether they can watch your bags for you while you seek assistance or stay with you as you call your doctor for guidance, support is crucial.
Additionally, let your loved ones not traveling with you know what’s going on as well. If you’re at an airport nearby, they may be able to get your insulin to you quickly or know someone who can. Help is usually within six degrees of separation.
You will get through this
Life happens. But you will get through this. Bags get lost, flights get rerouted and insulin vials shatter. But what’s important is to remember that most people know what diabetes is and they realize how important insulin is for a person living with diabetes.
If you lose money on a flight, so be it. You can rebook for another day. Nothing is worth the risk of DKA or life-threatening hypoglycemia. These are hard and unfair choices to make, but it is life with diabetes.
So if you find yourself stranded at an airport without your insulin, take a breath. Drink some water. Ask for help loudly and fast. Use every resource available to you, and don’t board another flight until you have a backup plan in place. Your diabetes, your health and your life matter the most.
https://beyondtype1.org/stranded-at-the-airport-without-insulin/
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