Airport Security with meds/insulin pump.

[DisOrBust]

I hope someone here has some experience with this. My DH has recently gotten an insulin pump and I am wondering about the new security checks.

1. Will he have to remove it?

2. Will the "xray" machine mess with the mcirchip inside. I thought I read laptop and digital cameras shouldn't go thru.

3. What about insulin vials and syringes. Do we need an MD script?


TIA...any advice appreciated

 

[safetymom]

The X Ray does not harm laptops and digital cameras. I send mine through all the time so I doubt it would do anything to the pump. I would carry the prescription with you for the syringes, etc.

 

[catherines_mama]

I did about 3 mos of traveling every weekend for work and one of my co-workers has a pump, so .. this is my take.

They will put your laptop in a bin to go through Xray. the 24 times mine did this.. it still works fine. They may (about 1 in 4 for me) take it to the side and swab it for particles of something. At NY-LGA they asked me to "go sit over there" while they took my Laptop away. As my laptop is my work, I was not a good girl. I followed them and asked to stay with my laptop. I just stood quietly and they were okay with that. I had a coworker who lost their laptop when someone grabbed the wrong one after this process.

Anyway.. the insulin. Eric carried his Rx with him for the meds, and they would ask about the pump, but never was he made to remove it. They did very often pull him to the side for the shoes off, arms up deal.

Off note: make sure you let the hotel know you need a fridge for insulin. If you don't remind them.. they forget. Also, carry all the insulin with you in carryon.. our luggage got lost on a nonstop flight (how.. no idea) for 2 days. NOT FUN. Eric was very glad he had it with him.

Hope I helped. Have a wonderful trip!
Deedee

 

[BCV23]

Don't know about the pump but my husband and DS2 are both diabetics. We've never been stopped about the syringes or insulin and my husband flies at least twice a week. Totally agree about not checking any meds.

 

[jlp651]

even with checking meds or not-dont forget the soft sided cooler with the ice pack-I'm sure you've thought of it...but wouldnt want you to forget!!!

 

[chrisd596]

I was wondering the same thing last year when we went to WDW. My eight year old has an insulin pump and he went through security w/o a problem. We just mentioned to the officers before he went through and it didn't even set off the alarms and it didn't effect the pump.

However my older son set off the alarm at both PHL and MCO with his sneakers.....interesting since there was no metal in his sneakers. The security officer mentioned to him to wear his spare sneakers if he is going to travel a lot. ....these were his spare sneakers.... Oh well.

Good luck.
chris

 

[disneyfanzz]

I've been through a lot of metal detectors with my pump and I never beep. No one even knows I am wearing it. I went through security many times during the 2002 winter olympics and I thought for sure they would have to look at it but they never knew I had it.
Also, insulin can be kept at room temperature for a couple of weeks and be just fine. I'm not planning on bringing a cooler for my WDW trip next month.

 

[Straughn]

My sister is an insulin dependent diabetic and travels routinely for her job. She has had a variety of experiences with her syringes and insulin. Some screeners have never said a word, others have questioned her and then let her go. The worst experience was last year on a flight on Christmas Day. The screener stopped her, questioned the syringes and the insulin, then went thru her carry-on bag and handbag in great detail. He then called a superviser over who asked to see the prescriptions authorizing her to carry the syringes. To make a long story short, when she couldn't produce a letter, they held her, she missed her flight and it took a lot of phone calls to the airline from our father to get her on a later flight. She now carries an original, notarized letter from her doctor detailing her medical condition and the medication she needs. She has been stopped a couple of times in the last year and upon producing the letter, she was sent thru. Based on conversations our father has had with the airlines and the TSA, it is the syringes that get more attention that the insulin. It was the TSA who recommended that she carry the letter and also that she only carry a minimal supply of the syringes on the plane and put the rest in her checked luggage.

 

[jgates]

I usually have 2 syringes in my purse. It has not caused any problems so far (Madison, Minneapolis, St Louis, New Orleans & Atlanta airports) They did look at my purse longer last time in the viewer but never made me open it. Probably just trying to figure out how I fit so much crXX in it!!

I always carry my humalog in my purse and one bottle of lantus (overnite). I don't want the insulin to get banged around so I carry the spare bottle of each and an xtra box of strips in the tote I take on the plane. Xtra syringes are in regular luggage - I can reuse if I had to until I could get to a Walgreens. If they did not sell over the counter syringes (some states used to require a prescription), my Dr could call the Walgreens in her city and I could pick up wherever.

I also never refrigerate the bottle of insulin I am using, but when I go somewhere I normally ask for a fridge - it provides good protection if a/c goes out etc to help it stay cool and also a storage place for juice etc if my blood sugar drops.

My frustration is that we have no local Walgreens - nearest is 50 miles away. I have to use WM pharmacy and if I need a prescription at another location they have to transfer the prescription but they tell me they cannot transfer it back - I would then have to get a NEW one from my physician when I got home. Unless this has changed in the last few months? I would love to have a local Walgreens where I could pick up that prescription anywhere - I would only take the bare minimum with me and get extra one I arrived if I needed it.