International Travel with Diabetes
Early mornings and late nights
If you have to stay up late, or get up early, to catch your flight, remember that you will need an extra snack to tide you over.
Short flights
Within Europe, time changes will probably be only an hour or two. No change in insulin dose will be needed, but you will have to have an extra snack at some point if your day works out longer than usual.
Long flights
These are the complicated ones. The airline will try to help you to adjust by organising your day so that you either get a “long day” or a “short night”. The following advice is for people who take insulin twice each day. (If you take insulin three or four times daily the advice can be modified accordingly. Your diabetic clinic doctor or nurse can advise you.)
Click on the panel headers below for more information
You will be given 4 meals instead of three! Think of them as follows
Breakfast |
Take your usual morning dose of insulin |
|---|---|
Lunch |
No insulin |
'Second lunch' |
Take an extra injection of clear insulin - it may be called Actrapid, Veloslulin or Humulin S. |
Evening meal |
Take your usual evening dose of insulin |
Reduce the evening dose of insulin by about 1/6th of your normal total daily dose.
Arrange travel insurance and make sure they know you have diabetes. If your insurance firm intends to charge you extra for this, contact “Diabetes UK” who may be able to offer you a better quote.
Ask your doctor to give you a letter to say you have diabetes. It may make it easier to get through baggage control with syringes etc.
Carry insulin in your hand baggage - not in your suitcase.
Take two sets of injection kit in 2 separate bags, in case one gets mislaid.
Do not ask for “diabetic meals” on the flight - you may end up with a meal with no carbohydrate!
Take biscuits or sandwiches in case meals are not provided at the times you had expected.
Children on holiday (and adults too!) are excited, and usually more active than usual. Hot weather can also cause the blood sugars to fall. When you get to your destination it is a good idea to reduce the morning and evening insulin doses slightly. You can make further adjustments once you get into a routine.
And finally - Enjoy yourself!