When travelling the world with type 1 diabetes, it can become a little difficult to manage all of your supplies in one place, especially when you’ve got to bring such a large amount for a long period of time. I wouldn't describe myself as the best-organised person, especially when it comes to my diabetes supplies, so I was in desperate need for something to help keep me organised while travelling.
The problem is, I don’t like using stuff that looks “medical”. There is something quite depressing about it and I’m always reminded of what I have when I look at my supplies etc. Thankfully, however, I found Myabetic and their amazing Diabetes cases that are not only functional but pretty too!
I am privileged enough to have gotten my hands on two different cases and I thought I’d give you a mini review of them for what type of trips they are used for and how much supplies I can fit into them. The two products I own are the Kamen case (mines in blue) and the Thompson Diabetes Travel Carry- all in beautiful purple.
The details...
This case I currently have with me on my 4 month trip to South East Asia. This product consists of two main compartments but there is also a zip area at the front that I find useful for carrying packets of skittles or dextrose for hypos. Whether you’re on an insulin pump or insulin pens, this case works for you. There is room for your diabetes monitor, pricker, test strips, and insulin pens. If you are on a pump, I usually use it like this for day trips.
I pop my insertion device in here>>
I pop a spare infusion set in here>>
My Freestyle Libre in here>>
Spare insulin cartridge in here>>
If I am travelling in a normal temperature- I will also put insulin in here>>
I also carry spare batteries with me too.
This is basically what I stock my Kamen Diabetes Case with when I am heading out for day-trips whilst travelling. When travelling for long periods of time, there’s simply no product that will carry 4 months worth of all my stock, so I keep these separately split between my boyfriend and me in plastic container zip bags. It usually takes 3 zip bags to contain all my things. However, when I am out and about (which I am every single day) I leave my backpack in the room and transfer to my day bag.
It’s my day bag that this Kamen Diabetes Case is perfect for. Its small enough to not take up lots of space but its big enough for me to hold everything I need for a day trip and there is enough room for me to take more to suit my activities, for example, if I know I am going to be in water, then I bring two infusion sets as there is a higher risk of them falling out. It keeps everything contained in one useful place and it honestly looks like a makeup bag, so no one knows its filled with diabetes supplies and when I take it out I don’t feel singled out. It’s nice. I find the material to be reliable too- I am in lots of weird and wonderful places and I’ve dropped my Myabetic in mud, water and more and I’ve just wiped it down with a baby wipe and it’s back to looking beautiful blue!
There is also space in one of the compartments for a small Frio Cooling Pouch, which you all know I rave about for keeping your insulin cool while travelling. So if you want something that can incorporate both your favourite diabetic products, then I do recommend this!
Based on personal experience, my recommendations are;
- Long day trips with friends and family
- An overnight stay
- Day adventure activities (I’ve used it on day trips to the beach, kayaking, caving, tubing, ziplining, hiking etc)
- Long-term travel (for your day bag/day trips)
I absolutely loved this product when I saw it online. I instantly thought, wow, it's a handbag that doesn't look like it’s medical, that can carry all my medical supplies on the plane!? Perfect. This carry-on is perfect for storing all your diabetic goods in one organised place, meaning airport security is seriously a lot less stressful.
You can see from my video below just how much I can pack into it.
I use this bag for all my city breaks. I simply don’t need to take anything else other than this carry-on and since it’s a bag, it’s easy to carry AND in the UK, I can bring it on free as a medical bag for my supplies on planes. I am able to pop my doctor's letter in there too so it makes airport security a simple process and it looks so pretty!
There are four separate compartments and you can store any diabetes supplies you want...including; glucose meters, test strips, lancing devices and needles, insulin pens, needles, insulin vials, infusion sets, sensors, cartridges, batteries, alcohol swabs, hypo supplies, Glucagon kits, log books, medical IDs, doctors letters, mini sharps containers and FRIO BAGS.
Again, the amazing thing about this bag is I can incorporate my Frio bag to keep my insulin cool when travelling! The FRIO Duo Wallet, FRIO Individual Wallet, FRIO Mini Wallet and FRIO Pump Wallet all fit inside the Thompson Travel Carry-all.
I think it’s perfect for city breaks, holiday breaks and weekends away. It’s even good for a day out with friends because it looks like a pretty handbag, so you could store diabetes supplies and makeup in there if you really wanted to! I wouldn’t recommend it for backpackers- simply because when backpacking, space is limited and there's no way you can fit all your supplies in these cases. So it’s best to choose a case that’s smaller but can handle your day supplies. Just my personal opinion!
So there you have it, my review of the two products I own from Myabetic. They have a whole host of other types of cases and bags available and the latest form of Diabetes Fashion comes from the mini backpacks, which I think looks absolutely amazing and I sense are perfect for city breaks, holidays and trips away.
So this is what I use to help to make travelling with type 1 diabetes a little easier. Long-term travel with a chronic illness is always a challenge because there is no such thing as routine, but it’s certainly possible if you are prepared to work hard! You may as well look good doing it.
**This is not a sponsored post, I was asked by a reader to do a review of the Myabetic cases I used as they were considering buying one. All views are my own and true.**
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