TRAVELLING WITH DIABETES

The hormone insulin should not be exposed to extremes of temperature, that is, neither to extreme heat nor to extreme cold. There are lots of medical product companies that have specially insulated compact containers that are suitable for transporting not only insulin but also syringes, vials and any other essential equipment. When travelling by car, which generally takes longer than air travel, it is absolutely essential that insulin be kept at the correct temperature. It may be necessary to contact the manufacturer or supplier to ask about their transport specifications well in advance of going on holiday. So for your customer the best place to start the holiday is at the pharmacy.

Pharmacy customer: Hello.
PTA: Hello. How may I help you?

My husband and I are going on holiday in a few weeks and I need a few things to take with me. I have a list here.
Thank you. I’ll just put it together for you. Oh, I see you have a question mark next to blood-testing. Are you a diabetic?

That’s right! It’s good that you asked. You see I haven’t had type 1 diabetes very long and it’s my first time travelling a longer distance since having been diagnosed. As you can imagine, I’m very unsure.
Are you travelling by car or are you flying to your destination?

We’re flying.
Okay, so you need a safe means of transporting your insulin and other equipment with you.

Can’t I just pack it carefully in my luggage?
No, that is not at all to be recommended.

Why not?
For several reasons really. One of them is that the insulin will most likely freeze in the cargo hold of the plane and another reason is the risk of the luggage not getting to your holiday destination with you.

My goodness, I didn’t know that! It’s all still so new to me you see. I’m so unsure what to do.
That’s not a problem, we’re here to help! Do you have a letter from your GP stating that you are a diabetic and need the various medication connected with diabetes?

No, is that necessary?
Certainly! You need to get your blood-testing machine, your syringes and last but not least your insulin through the security control at the airport!

Oh, right. Eh, yeah.
Your doctor will probably provide a short checklist with the letter. This should include an explanation of which type of insulin administration you use, you know pump or syringe and cartridge, and lancing device for pricking the finger before testing.

Good. I’ll do that. Is there anything else?
Yes, you should always make sure that you have your hypo treatment with you. Some short-acting carbohydrate, you know? It’s also a good idea to put your insulin in a clear plastic bag for when you go through security. After that you can put it in a small insulated container so that you can transport it coolly and safely.

I think I’ll contact the airline and ask them, too. Thank you so much for your help.
Here are your purchases. Goodbye.

Goodbye!

Vocabulary
consider betrachten, in Betracht ziehen
exposed ausgesetzt
insulated isoliert
syringes Spritzen
vials Ampullen, Phiolen
manufacturer Hersteller
in advance im Voraus
safe means sicheres Mittel
GP = general practitioner Hausarzt
explanation Erklärung
cartridge Patrone, Karpule
lancing device Stechhilfe
hypo treatment glukosehaltige Notfallpackung
short-acting kurzfristig wirkend
hypoglycaemia Unterzuckerung
carbohydrates Kohlenhydrate

Den Artikel finden Sie auch in Die PTA IN DER APOTHEKE 06/12 auf Seite 70.

Catherine Croghan, Lecturer in English and native speaker