Are syringes allowed on airplanes?
 

I'm traveling with someone who is diabetic and he is concerned about not being able to take his insulin/syringe on the plane...

Has anyone had any experience with this? Do the airlines allow syringes in carry-on luggage?

We have a full day of travel - 3 connections - and he can't go all day without insulin.

Any diabetics out there with experience on this subject?

Thanks!

Yes. See the requirements at this link:

http://www.tsa.gov/trav_consumers/permitted_items.shtm

my son is a 8 year old diabetic.

we flew from ewr to hnl and had no problems.

my backpack (kit) with all of his supplies went thru the screener with no problem !!

i gave him his injection on the plane with no problem !!

my suggest is to make sure everything you bring with you has a presription label on it and to bring a complete set of extra prescriptions from the doctor to keep with your important papers just in case.

it helps you two ways - 1) it proves what the instruments are for, 2) in case something gets lost or stolen you can just go to a pharmacy where ever you are and get them filled.

it was the first time we traveled since my son was diagnosed and 9/11 and everything was okay !! it was the begining of may of 2002.

hope that helps !!

scott

Hubs is insulin-dependent diabetic; his insulin and syringes go into a handy little zip compartment on the top of our roll-aboard. Handy for us makes them very visible, yet he's never ever been questioned about them.

Thanks for the information!

One less thing to worry about for the upcoming trip!

I'm a diabetic and a frequent flyer. Make sure to have insulin in original packing, with perscription label. A note from his doctor wouldn't hurt, but isn't guaranteed to help, either -- it's the label they want to see, as there's some concern about doctor's notes being forged.

Most of the time, I'm not even questioned about the lancets and needles, but there have been annoying exceptions. Generally in my experience, the larger airports that handle lots of traffic don't bat an eyelash (they see this stuff, and know what it is and what it's for), but smaller airports may be problematic (I had a BAD experience at Norfolk where an overzealous screener was taking caps off of sterile needles and insisting I couldn't go through, even when I showed him the mandated documentation. I had to call over a supervisor, who took one look and waved me through)

I've travelled extensively with my diabetic daughter (minor) and we carry a complete kit of syringes, insulin, lancets, monitor, etc. on-board wherever we go.
I do make a point of keeping copies of her prescriptions in case of questioning, but we've never had a problem with screening or security.
kmc

------------------
"Aviation is proof that given the will,
we have the capacity to achieve the impossible."
-- Eddie Rickenbacker

what? you don't have to drink it to prove it's safe?

[email protected] , if you're not familiar with the web site www.childrenwithdiabetes.org is a gold mine of info about dealing with diabetes in children (has good travel info there). Our now-15 year-old daughter was diagnosed 6 years ago. If I can be of any help or if you want to chat with someone a little further down the road you're on, feel free to email me privately.

I'm sure the people running the x-ray machines are reading and verifying the perscription like they're supposed to. They just must be doing it as it goes through the machine...

d

Assuming a hypodermic needle could be used as a weapon, I wonder how hard it would be for a terrorist to obtain a phony prescription? I used to have a supply of IV needles for my cat - so prescription needles are easy to get. I am at least glad the FAA is not going to put people's lives at risk by restricting medical needles. It really makes no sense to restrict something like a sowing needle, but let other needles on. Just one more example of a "show" of security.

Curious - Say a you are flying into Washington National, and the aircraft is in the final 30-min approach. During the final 30-min, all pax are required to remain seated (have heard of the Air marshals using physical force to prevent a person from moving). Now, say you are very sick or have an upset stomach and absolutely must go to the lav. What happens? Once when I was 10, during the entire landing, I got motion sickness and was in the lav with an airsick bag.

Should the day come when a person has an accident because they were forced to stay seated, I can just imagine the degrading humilation that a person would have to go through.

If it happened to me, I would explain my circumstances in route to the lav, but I would attemp to get to the lav unless someone physically held me back.

While I agree with you that the sewing needle is no more a weapon than an insulin syringe (and in fact less so), the key difference is that you can live without that sewing needle, but the diabetic can't live without the syringe. (And checking isn't an option even on short flights because of the risk of the luggage getting lost)

I've been to Spain and back this summer, as well as a number of places stateside, and have had no questions asked about my bee sting kit (epipen).

JP