9 essential tips for travelling with diabetes

Vacationing with diabetes can be a challenge. To enjoy your trip and stay safe, you'll want to keep your diabetes in check. Here are some helpful hints to make travelling with diabetes a breeze.

Before your trip, visit your doctor. Ask for a signed note confirming your diagnosis, the generic and trade names for the medications you're taking. It's also a good idea to have your doctor explain your need for lancets, syringes, insulin pump or any supplies you use. These documents will help you contact your physician in a pinch. And they may help out at border crossings, or in case of an emergency, like a problem with your medication.

Getting a prescription for extra insulin and other medications is a good idea when you're away from home. You never what you might need and when. Having your essentials with you can be a life-saver!

This way you can air one pair out while you use the other. Also bring a pair of brown or black, closed-toe flats for dinners and other more formal occasions. All the shoes you bring should be broken in before your trip, so leave your new ones at home.

These stretchy-soled booties will protect your feet from hot sand, rough sidewalks around the pool and sharp pebbles underfoot.

These lined bags keep your food cool. Before you set out for the day, stop by a deli and put a few cold bottles of water in the bag — they'll help keep everything else in the bag cool. Then add snacks like yogourt cups, sliced apples and low-fat mozzarella cheese sticks.

Travelling can be stressful, especially if you're travelling with a large group of friends or relatives. Stress can be a bad thing for your diabetes. Reduce by it making some alone time. Visit a mall. Go for a hike. See a historical site in a neighbouring town. You'll find the stress of travelling really disappears when you take a breather.

When you're travelling, you want to see and do everything you can in a short time. But zipping from vista to landmark can not only wear out your feet, it can make you susceptible to "hot spots" and blisters.

Although they seem innocent enough, blisters can lead to infections that can turn serious for someone with diabetes. Fill a sandwich bag with several sheets of moleskin, several large and small adhesive bandages and round-tipped bandage scissors. (If your pharmacy doesn't carry moleskin on the shelves, ask them to order it.) As soon as you feel a hot spot developing, cut off a piece of moleskin that's large enough to cover the spot and stick it on. If you discover a full-fledged blister, cover it with a bandage.

No matter where you travel, you should always wear a medical alert bracelet or necklace. This will alert medical personnel to your diabetes status in the event of an emergency. It will allow you better care because emergency responders will know how to treat you better.

These are available at department stores and sporting goods stores. Many fitness experts recommend that you walk 10,000 steps a day to stay healthy. That's roughly equal to about eight kilometres (five miles). Clip your pedometer to your belt or waistband in the morning and keep moving until you've hit your goal for the day.