Diabetic Supplies and Airport Security Part 1

As we prepare to be on the road once again, I thought it timely to talk about my experiences as a diabetic carrying diabetic supplies through airport security.

First of all, you have to know that I never, ever put any of my supplies in a checked bag. This is because one missing checked bag, if holding my diabetic supplies, could easily end a trip, not to mention that the small amount of money that the airline gives you if they’ve truly lost your bag pales in comparison to the actual cost of supplies. My suitcase (carry-on size) packed for these last five months in Asia carried about $8000 USD worth of supplies ($4000 of this was an extra insulin pump). Too valuable to simply trust to the system of destination city stickers and conveyer belts!

For the non-diabetic reader, you should also know that this suitcase carries a lot of needles and a lot of plastic accessories. All of the needles are small and nothing that could actually do any real damage to anyone, so they should not be perceived as a threat. In all of the US airports I have ever been through, this is precisely the reaction I get. My suitcase goes through the X-ray machine and almost never gets another look. A few times in smaller airports the conveyer belt backs up and moves my suitcase through again for another look but usually all it takes is a friendly, “That’s my suitcase, and I’m diabetic” from me to end the scrutiny. Sadly, I think this is a reflection on how common diabetes has become in the US.

Previous to this big trip the only place I’ve ever had more than a look at my belongings is in Thailand. On return flights to the US (specifically on Northwest Airlines (now Delta)) passengers have to go through another security screening before being allowed into the gate area for the flight. After placing your baggage through another X-ray, each passenger must also open each piece of luggage for a physical inspection. One look at all of my needles usually gets me some special attention. This results in my bag being carried to the gate for me (with me in tow) and a security agent presenting me and my bag to the gate agent. My Thai has never been good enough to know what is said about me, but whatever is said doesn’t elicit much of a reaction from the gate agent who looks at me once and then resumes whatever work they are doing. I take my bag and sit down and board as normal later.

On this current trip I’ve had a few curious interactions and one horrible one (coming up in the next post). Going through Amsterdam on the way to Paris the security agents were intrigued by my pack of AAA batteries which I use to power my insulin pump. The quantity of the pack (16 batteries) seemed to be the concern. My bag was initially run through the X-ray and then it was taken off the conveyer belt by a security agent who asked me if I had batteries. When I said yes, I was asked to locate them. Once found (at the bottom of my bag, of course) they were taken, visually inspected and then run through the X-ray machine again, nothing more. We were then free to run for our plane to Paris.

This April, in the Bangkok airport on our way to Manila I made it through the first security check point without a problem but was stopped at a second security point that allowed you into the gate area. After my bag went through the X-ray I was told to take it to another agent for a physical inspection. I told this agent that I was diabetic in English, which she didn’t understand. So then I tried in Thai, which elicited an understanding that I had said ‘diabetic’ but not any other sort of understanding. As I pulled things out of my bag she realized that I had some syringes (they are backup-backup, in case the loaner insulin pump fails). She went away, found a scrap of paper and then came back, wrote down my passport number and asked me how many syringes I had. I told her 7, she wrote ‘7’ down next to my passport number on her scrap of paper and I went on my merry way.

I find it a little troublesome that I never know what I’m going to encounter at the airport with regard to security and my diabetic supplies. Usually internationally, I encounter a few extra hoops that I have to jump through, which while frustrating especially when you’re literally running to catch a flight, are not horrible. Unfortunately the next post will tell of one experience that I had on this trip that was a great example of how systems and policies can sometimes do harm to innocent travelers – even those who aren’t involved in politically sensitive activities.

Andrea