9 Pharmacist-Backed Tips for Traveling With Insulin

Packing for a trip can be stressful. And having to bring medications with you only makes things more complicated. This is especially true if you live with diabetes and take insulin to manage your blood glucose (sugar) levels. Here, we’ll review 9 things to keep in mind when traveling with insulin, including how much you should bring and how to pack it correctly.

1. Bring more insulin and supplies than you need

When traveling somewhere new, your diet might change. You may eat more or less than usual, and you may eat different foods than you do at home because of the local cuisine. For example, you could find yourself eating more carbohydrates (such as pasta and rice) than usual.

Even if you track what you eat while traveling, you may need more or less insulin than what you typically use at home. That’s why the CDC recommends bringing double the amount that you think you’ll need. This will ensure you have enough insulin throughout your entire trip. Bringing extra also protects you from running out of insulin because of unexpected travel delays, like canceled flights.

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When traveling with extra insulin, consider splitting your supply into different bags. This way, if you lose one bag, you’ll have a backup supply. The same suggestions hold true for diabetes supplies.

Some items that you may need to include on your packing list are:

• Alcohol swabs to clean injection sites

• Overpatches or medical tape to secure wearable diabetes devices

• A blood glucose monitor (glucometer), test strips, and lancets

• Medical alert bracelet or necklace

• Continuous glucose monitor (CGM) supplies

• Insulin pump supplies, syringes, and pen needles

• Fast-acting carbohydrates such as glucose tablets, glucose gel, or sugary snacks in case of low blood glucose (hypoglycemia)

• Glucagon to treat severe low glucose (if prescribed)

• Insulin travel case

• Urine test strips to check for glucose and ketones in your urine

• Chargers and batteries for diabetes technology

• A lidded plastic container to get rid of needles, syringes, lancets, and other sharps (this will serve as your “sharps container”)

2. To keep insulin cold while traveling, store insulin in a travel case or cooler

It’s recommended to store unopened insulin in the refrigerator (between 36ºF and 46ºF). But this isn’t always possible when you’re on the go. 

If insulin gets too hot, it can make it less effective. So if you’re traveling by car, consider storing insulin in a cooler. Though, you’ll want to make sure it isn’t directly touching ice or ice packs to prevent it from getting too cold. 

If you’re flying, or you don’t want to deal with a big cooler, there are other options. Insulin travel cases are a great solution for keeping vials and pens at a safe, cool temperature. While some can keep  insulin cool for multiple hours, others can keep it cool for days. 

Additionally, insulin can be stored at room temperature while you travel, which we’ll discuss below.

3. Separate insulin from your belongings when going through airport security  

If you’re flying, you may only need to tell the airport security agents that you’re traveling with insulin. In other cases, they may ask you to separate your insulin and other diabetes supplies from your other belongings before going through security. Either way, let the security agents know that you’re carrying insulin before your bags go through the screening process. 

Additional things to know about getting through airport security include:

• People with diabetes are exempt from the liquid volume limit of 3.4 oz or 100 mL.

• An X-ray machine might damage your insulin pump or CGM. Consider asking for a hand-wand inspection instead. Reach out to the company who makes your technology for specific recommendations.

It may be tempting to keep extra insulin in your checked bag, but you’ll want to avoid doing this. The airline could lose your bag, the vial or pens could break, or the insulin could reach unsafe temperatures. Always keep your insulin on your person instead.  

4. Get a TSA notification card

Consider getting a U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) notification card before flying. This helps discreetly inform security agents that you have a medical condition that may affect the screening process. You may also consider getting a letter of medical necessity from your prescriber to present at security.

5. You may be able to store insulin outside the fridge, but how long it lasts depends on the product

Again, it’s recommended to store unopened insulin and insulin pens in the fridge. That said, some insulin products can stay out of the fridge for a specific amount of time without losing their potency. Depending on the product, it may be able to stay out from 10 to 56 days. 

For example, NovoLog Flexpen (insulin aspart) can be stored unopened at room temperature for up to 28 days. But NovoLog Mix pen (insulin aspart pen 70/30) can only be stored at room temperature for 14 days. 

After opening your insulin vial or pen there’s a few things to keep in mind:

• Insulin pens shouldn’t be put back in the fridge after they’re opened. Instead, they should be kept at room temperature. The amount of time a pen will last depends on the specific product you’re using (between 14 and 56 days).

• With an insulin pump, you’ll need to reload the insulin regularly. This varies from every 2 to 7 days, depending on the type of insulin pump you have. Ask your diabetes care team how often you should reload your insulin pump.

Never don’t put insulin in the freezer. Freezing insulin can change its quality, making it unsafe.

5. It’s best to let insulin come to room temperature before using it

While insulin is safe to use immediately after taking it out of the fridge, cold insulin can be painful to inject. To prevent this, let your insulin come to room temperature before using it. 

After your insulin vial or pen is open, follow the manufacturer’s instructions for storing it. Remember that you can’t put insulin pens back in the fridge.

7. Avoid exposing your insulin to extreme temperatures

You may be on the go once you reach your destination. Perhaps you’ll be spending time on a hot beach or skiing on a snowy mountain. Either way, you’ll want to keep your insulin out of extreme temperatures and here’s why.

Insulin breaks down at very high (or low) temperatures, which can make it less effective. Experts recommend that you avoid exposing insulin to temperatures above 77ºF. (The maximum temperature can vary from product to product.) So if you’re going somewhere hot, be careful not to leave your insulin sitting outside or in a car for too long.

If you’re going somewhere cold, keep your insulin and diabetes supplies (like your CGM or blood glucose meter) somewhere close to your body to keep them warm. This could be in a pocket on the inside of your jacket, for example. 

8. Know how to adjust your insulin dosage during travel

Reach out to your diabetes care team before traveling. They’ll have great tips and tricks for managing your glucose in new situations. And they can help you navigate possible insulin dosage adjustments to accommodate being more active than usual or having long travel days. 

They may also have specific recommendations if you’ll be entering a different climate or new time zones. A different climate or time zone than what you’re used to may affect how much insulin you need and when you take your doses. Talk to your diabetes care team about adjusting your insulin schedule before you travel.

9. Know how to seek medical assistance while traveling

Having diabetes shouldn’t prevent you from traveling, but it does require some extra planning. 

One important thing to keep in mind is that unexpected things can happen when you travel. For example, you could lose your insulin or experience travel delays. But with the right planning, you can limit how much an unexpected situation impacts your trip. 

Knowing how to access medical care while traveling is important. Consider the following strategies:

• Research healthcare professionals and pharmacies in the area you’re traveling to.

• Consider buying travel insurance for your trip. Not all insurance plans cover travel-related medical expenses. 

• Wear a medical identification or medical alert bracelet with information about your health conditions, insulin usage, and medication allergies.

• Make a list of your current medications and doses. If you use an insulin pump, include information about the device’s settings. Carry this list with you or type it on a note in your phone.

• Learn phrases in the local language that may come in handy, such as “I have diabetes.” Knowing how to say “orange juice, please” might also be useful if you have hypoglycemia (low blood glucose).

• Consider getting a written prescription for your insulin. This may help if you need to replace lost medication during your travel.

Why trust our experts?

Written by:

Ross Phan, PharmD, BCACP, BCGP, BCPS

Ross Phan is a board-certified clinical pharmacist. She has roughly two decades of healthcare experience — with most of her experience being pharmacy related.

Edited by:

Amy B. Gragnolati, PharmD, BCPS

Amy Gragnolati, PharmD, BCPS, is a pharmacy editor for GoodRx. Amy currently holds her pharmacist license in Georgia and California.

Reviewed by:

Jewels Doskicz, RN, BA

Jewels Doskicz, RN, BA, is an Arizona-based registered nurse with 22 years of hospital-wide clinical nursing experience and 11 years of medical writing and editing experience. She was a former healthcare content creator for a digital health tool at HealthLoop and director of clinical content operations at GetWellNetwork.

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