Thinking about insulin

It can be very difficult to get supplies of insulin and other equipment when you’re on holiday in other countries and even if you do manage to find them, there is a good chance they will not be the same as what you normally use back home.

• Blood glucose meters in other countries often measure in different units.

• Insulin pens may not be available – in some countries, they are too expensive – and you might have to resort to using needles and syringes.

• Insulin may not be in the same concentration as you are used to. In the UK we mostly use U100 insulin, but other countries use different strengths, making it very difficult to calculate the correct dose.

• In some countries only long (12.7 mm) needles are available rather than the range of shorter needles available in the UK.

With all that in mind, you can see why it is far better to plan ahead and make sure you take plenty of spare kit with you.