Originally Posted by
eyecue
I cannot believe you guys! I am explaining the problems with something and YOU believe I am practicing medicine? That is about the lowest thing that I have seen on here. First I see lots of these and they are easy to take off. You just pull the tube off of either the connection to the body or I have seen them take the pump off the other end. That being said then you can put it in a kippy bag for cleanliness.
The ones that I have seen that have been destroyed by the WTMD are the ones that have been worn by other TSA officers. SO it is a fact that the radio waves can disturb them. THe other thing is that the X-ray will not hurt them. THere is only a few things that it will cause calibration issues with. A pump is not one of them. Onto the outcome if you dont remove it. You are going to get searched and more searched and swabbed and then some. I mean its your choice and I am just trying to reduce the hassle factor
Often1 Quote:
Originally Posted by MusicCityMom
I have used a pump for 11 years and have rarely been asked about it. I either have it clipped to my pants or skirt, or in a pocket. It does not alarm.
I would be extremely concerned about wearing it in either type of Xray imager at the airports-the pumps even have a warning sticker about wearing it in radiation devices like an MRI or a CT scanner. The manufacturer,Medtronic, was unable to give me advice as to the safety of the pump in these devices. I have not yet been in an airport with these WBI,but I will not take the chance of it destroying my pump and I also will not take my pump off-it's a medical device,after all.
I also wear a continuous glucose sensor which may not go through Xray either and must stay within 5 feet of my pump. I plan to never fly via Heathrow with their draconian no exception rules to opt out of the WBI.
Don't even get me started about the danger of taking my shoes off on a dirty public floor,unable to protect my feet. Those "shoe covers" are no protection either as they are made of paper.
Insulin pumps cannot be put through the X-Ray. It not only deprograms them, but can destroy their calibration. You should not need to take the device off, but if you do, it should only be for 30-40 seconds and that is far less than it is off when you change infusion sets. If that is of concern, you should double-check with your doc. However, my experience is that even when TSA wants to swab the device for its explosives detection devices, you need not detach the device and they will use a fresh sterile swab to do so.
OK, Eyecue, who do I trust, a TSA employee with no specific training or a person who uses a pump?
You don't help when you practice medicine without license.