Traveling with diabetes and taking insulin on a plane was something we experienced right away. Our son was diagnosed while he was visiting Thailand and so only a week after getting out of the hospital we were on our way back to the U.S.

Not only were we still shell-shocked with the diagnosis and not really understanding of how to manage our son’s condition (turns out what we learned in Thailand was pretty lacking), but we had certainly never had to carry needles onto a plane.

We survived all 17 hours of the flight however and here’s how we did it:

1) Organized: We were very organized with all of our gear and snacks. We separated out all of our needles and insulin (pens and syringes) and we separated out a couple cartons of juice and some snacks. We had all of this in an individual bag.

2) Prepared with Documentation: We had 2 copies of a note from our physician there in Thailand, both in Thai and in English. The note clearly explained that our son had diabetes and that it was necessary for him to take insulin via injection at regular intervals. This note was absolutely necessary getting through security and on-board.

3) Open: We were very open at each stage of boarding our plane. Before getting to the airport we called the airline and alerted them. When we checked in, they saw the note in our file and we once again reminded them of our need to carry needles onto the plane. At security, before getting in line, we alerted the officials and they worked with us to move through the line and the bag checks. When we arrived at the gate we told them once again of our situation.

4) Persistent: When we got to the gate, the cabin crew required us to surrender our insulin and syringes, explaining to us that they would hold the medication with the head crew member. We accepted this, but before the doors of the plane closed, we sought out the cabin crew manager and had her physically show us that she had possession of our insulin. Soon after takeoff, she actually came by our seats and gave us all the medication to hold onto.

Once we were in possession of everything we needed, we simply managed as normal, giving our son his injections right in his seat. And with all long flights, we made a point of getting up and walking around in order to keep our legs and minds fresh.

There were a lot of steps to go through to get our insulin on a plane, explain our situation to the airline, and ensure we could manage our son’s diabetes in a normal fashion. But with a little forethought and persistence, we found that traveling with diabetes on a plane was not that difficult.

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