Diabetics face new problem at airport

Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2001 | 10:43 a.m.

Diabetics According to Mylan Hawkins of the Nevada Diabetes Association for Children and Adults, diabetics dependent on injected insulin should take the following steps:

Last week's terrorist attacks and the resulting increase in airport security has made life more complicated for a segment of the American population already burdened with medical problems.

The American Diabetes Association confirmed Monday that some type one diabetics, many of whom rely on injectable insulin to survive, have reported difficulties carrying their medications through airport security checks.

There were unconfirmed reports from last weekend that diabetics may have had trouble at McCarran International Airport. McCarran spokeswoman Debbie Millet said her office had no information on any diabetics required to surrender their insulin injection and blood testing kits.

As part of stepped-up security at the nation's airports, the Federal Aviation Administration has banned "cutting instruments" aboard flights. Hypodermic syringes, or needles, can be lumped together with knives, sewing kits, nail files, scissors and other sharp objects.

Airline security at McCarran collected thousands of such objects over the weekend from passengers carrying them through security on their person or in carry-on bags.

Diabetes advocacy and education groups nationally and locally are still struggling to understand the impact of the regulations. Requests for clarification from the FAA, both the regional offices in Seattle and the national headquarters in Washington, D.C., were not immediately answered.

Southwest Airlines spokes-woman Linda Rutherford said passengers on her airline are being allowed on with insulin injection and blood testing kits if they have prescription forms and the bracelets or necklaces diabetics use to identify their conditions.

Southwest is the largest carrier serving the Las Vegas area.

Groups serving people with diabetes said they have had trouble getting clear instructions from the FAA.

"We're still receiving conflicting information," said Pat Klepzig, area executive director for the Nevada chapter of the American Diabetics Association.

"We have received a couple of calls about this from around the country," said Mark Overbay, a staffer with the association's headquarters in Washington. "As an organization, we are concerned about this.

"We are working through this," he said. "We are trying to figure out exactly what the regulations are in this case."

For a type one, so-called juvenile onset diabetic, traveling without insulin delivery systems and a method to test the blood -- which often requires a sharp pin-like object called a lancet -- can be dangerous or deadly.

"They have to," Klepzig said. "It's life and death."

The insulin and syringes can be packed aboard checked luggage, but local experts said that isn't an option for people who may need a shot.

"People who are insulin-dependent need to carry their syringes aboard the plane," agreed Kris Knutson, a registered nurse and diabetes educator with the Diabetes Treatment Center at Desert Springs Hospital.

"We tell our patients never to pack it," Knutson said. "Carry it on board because luggage does get lost."

Some diabetics would need to inject insulin before a meal served aboard the aircraft, she said.

Mylan Hawkins, executive director of the Nevada Diabetes Association for Children and Adults, said her group is urging insulin-dependent people to take a number of actions to ensure they can get through airport security.

The first is for passengers to tell the air carrier when they buy a ticket that they will bring insulin and syringes aboard, she said.

Airlines and the FAA, Hawkins said, are still trying to work through the new rules. She said her group and others will write to the federal agency and ask for clarification of the rules.

"We hope that they will work with people," Hawkins said. "It's just not diabetics. There are people who always have to travel with syringes, people who need them for allergic reactions."

She said one possible way to solve the problem would be to give flight attendents the syringe kits upon boarding. Airline employees would then hold onto the kits unless or until a passenger needed it back.

"At this point, I'm not sure if the FAA is going to have all of their rules and regulations worked out," she said. "We should all have a little compassion for them, too."