I have family (one who has T1) in Houston. My kids (one who has T1) live in Los Angeles and could see the current raging wild fire from their front porch. I lived in Northridge, CA during the infamous Northridge earthquake in 1994 – and lost two apartments in the process. I’m a type one diabetic myself and I now live in Massachusetts where getting snowed is a real possibility. You’d think with all of these things, I’d have the presence of mind to have a diabetes emergency kit. Guess what? I don’t. You need something you can grab and run out the door with if needed. We T1s CANNOT survive without insulin. Insulin goes bad too in excessive heat and cold.
There are many sites to help you pack an emergency kit, so find one that works for you or combine a couple, but I’m putting one together now and so, with my song title/lyric theme in place, hum along to the Bee Gees with me as we gather the items.
I think these are the basics:
- Waterproof container or bag to carry items (placed in an easy to grab location)
- Glucometer/test strips/lancer and lancets
- Ketone test strips
- Alcohol swabs
- Glucagon kit
- Syringes
- Pump supplies
- CGM supplies
- Fast-acting carb source like glucose tablets or gels
- Water
- Anti-nausea meds if your doctor has given you those – I have Zofran in case of throwing up to give me enough time to get to a medical facility – thankfully, I have never had to use it
- Any other meds you take
- Cool packs (like Frio or Medicool brands) for keeping insulin cool – It is hard to keep insulin itself in an emergency kit though, so have it ready to grab from your fridge as easily as possible
- Extra non-perishable snacks
- Standard first aid kit
Stay safe out there!
