Travelling with your Libre

Packing

Planning a trip is always an exciting time but when you have diabetes, you need to really think ahead to make sure you have all of the equipment and supplies you will need whilst you’re away. Here’s a checklist of things you will want to think about when travelling with your Libre:

• A few weeks before you go, ask your GP for a letter stating that you have diabetes and listing all the testing equipment and medication you need to travel with. Order supplies from the pharmacy in plenty of time.

• Check with your airline prior to departure regarding any special handling when travelling as rules and regulations may change without notice.

• It’s a good idea to take double the amount of equipment that you think you’ll need just to be safe. It’s also sensible to bring a finger-prick blood glucose monitor, lancing devices and testing strips so that you have a backup plan in case anything happens to your Libre.

• Download your recent meter data and use your FreeStyle Auto-Assist or FreeStyle Auto-Assist Neo software to print off your glucose levels and insulin doses, in case you need medical help while you’re away. Keep the report with your travel health insurance documents.

• Keep your glucose testing equipment in your carry-on luggage.

• Aim to check your glucose frequently while you’re travelling, and make sure you have hypo treatments and snacks with you so that you can prevent and treat hypos if needed.

• Remember to CHANGE YOUR GLUCOSE METER TIME SETTINGS if you’re crossing time zones. If you travel east, your day will be shorter; go west, and it will be longer. Ask your diabetes care team how you might need to adjust your insulin doses accordingly.

At the airport

The Freestyle Libre 2 can also go through most airport metal detectors without causing any performance issues. This includes the normal archway that you walk through and packaged sensors in hand luggage going through the scanner.

However, the FreeStyle Libre reader and the FreeStyle Libre sensor should not be exposed to some airport full-body scanners (i.e. x-ray and millimetre radio-wave). 

To avoid removing your FreeStyle Libre sensor, you should request another type of screening to be performed by the Security Officer. If you need to have a pat-down from security then make them aware of your sensor in case they knock it during their search.

Medical device awareness card

Following a number of complaints regarding security officers asking people with devices such as CGM’s or insulin pumps to either remove their device or go through body scanners, you can now carry a Medical Device Awareness Card.

The card contains information for both the passenger and security officer. It has been in use in the UK since 2019 and is endorsed by the ICAO Aviation Security Panel to improve global guidance on security screening for passengers with medical devices.

The video below gives more guidance on the Medical Device Awareness Card:

On the plane

The Freestyle Libre can be safely used at all times when on an aeroplane. You can find further information in the user manual for Libre here.

When you’re away

There are a few things you may want to prepare for before you jet off that may affect your Libre and how it functions.

Sensor adhesion

If it’s hot where you are going, then you may need a little help with keeping your sensor stuck down. Sweat, sand and sun cream can all be factors that can affect the stickiness of your sensor.

Making sure that you prep your skin properly to start with is really important, making sure the sensor is applied to clean and dry skin. You can also try some of the adhesives that we listed in the ‘wearing your sensor’ topic.

Swimming

The reason for this is due to the adhesion of the sensor to the skin and the movement in the water may weaken the contact between skin and sensor. In some cases, the functionality of the sensor may be affected by long periods spent in water.

There are many suggestions online for protecting your sensor in the water such as waterproof tapes, patches and plasters or using a Libreband – which is an armband that covers the sensor and protects it from knocks and water activities.

Extreme temperatures

The FreeStyle Libre sensor operating temperature range is 10°C to 45°C. If the sensor stops working due to extreme temperature, the user will get an error message indicating ‘Glucose Reading unavailable’.

However, as soon as you are back within those temperature ranges, the sensor will begin to work again and there shouldn’t be any concerns with accuracy.

Further information

For further advice on travelling with type 1 diabetes, have a look at our ‘Living with Type 1‘ course which covers topics such as adjusting insulin for time zones, travel documents and keeping well on holiday.