TRAVEL SMARTS

Simple hacks for healthier traveling— even if you or a companion have diabetes

Traveling these days is hardly relaxing, but taking a trip when you have diabetes can seem like double the trouble. That’s no reason to stay home, says Desmond Schatz, M. D., the American Diabetes Association’s president of medicine and science: “It ’s just a matter of preparation.” These tips will help ensure that you have healthy adventures.

Do Your Homework

When traveling by air, keep your diabetes supplies in your carry- on baggage, and visit tsa. gov to familiarize yourself with the Transportation Security Administration’s rules for getting them through security. The site also has a TSA disability notification card that you can print out and carry with you. Book flights well in advance to up your chances of getting an aisle seat ( making it easier to get to the bathroom or to your luggage in the overhead bin) and to ensure a diabetic meal is available.

Identify Yourself

Carry a letter f rom your doctor to avoid any con- fusion over your right to transport your medical supplies through security, and introduce yourself to the flight attendants when you board. Schatz also recommends that you have identification, such as a medical alert bracelet, on at all times.

Timing Is Everything

For long trips by car, map out your route, planning rest and meal stops at regular intervals.

On flights with a meal, ask when it will be served so you can schedule accordingly. “Try to be as consistent with eating and medicating as you usually are,” says Schatz. Keep juice, glucose tablets, raisins and other sources of quick sugar handy, as well as healthy snacks like protein bars and sugar- f ree trail mix to keep you f rom overeating at mealtime.

Time changes pose a particular problem for diabetics who use insulin to maintain their blood sugar. “In general, it ’s important to preserve your routine as much as possible,” Schatz says. “When crossing time zones, I always tell my patients to maintain their clock until they get there. Then they can change to the new schedule.”

Banish Germs

You’re not imagining it if you feel like you always catch some kind of bug on a plane: Low humidity in cabins dries out the mucus membranes that protect us f rom infectious diseases, says Massachusetts- based emergency medicine doctor Mark Gendreau, M. D. “Staying hydrated is extremely important, and even more so for people with diabetes, since uncontrolled diabetes can have an effect on the immune system,” he says.

The solution to flu- f ree flying? Wash hands f requently and wipe down tray tables, armrests and other surfaces with a disinfectant wipe. Another trick: Open the air vent above your seat to a moderate level, then turn the nozzle so it blows just in f ront of you rather than directly in your face. “There’s been some data showing that if there are virus particles suspended in the air, this creates enough turbulence to blow the germs out of your air space,” Gendreau says.

Keep Moving

Planes, trains, buses and automobiles all restrict movement, which puts everyone— but particularly people with diabetes— at risk for deep vein thrombosis ( DVT), a serious blood clot that can occur when you’re sedentary for too long. “Exercise is so crucial, even if you just stand up every hour and stretch your calves,” Schatz says. “Even when napping, try to wake up f rom time to time and bounce your calves, heel to toe.”