Diabetes in an Emergency: What to Pack in Your Care Kit, and Finding the Right Shelter

A major storm, a power cut or an outbreak of infectious disease can make diabetes hard to manage. Natural disasters, disease outbreaks and other emergencies can come at any moment and hit supplies, services and health care widely and for a long time. So plan ahead — for sheltering in place, for evacuating, and for protecting yourself from an infectious disease.

Everyone is helped in an emergency by essential supplies, prescriptions, important paperwork and practical skills. People with diabetes should add a diabetes care kit, kept in a waterproof bag or storage container.

In the kit: your medical information

Seal these in a plastic bag:

• copies of all prescriptions, eye prescriptions included
• your current doses and the times you take each medicine
• for an insulin pump: basal rates, insulin-to-carbohydrate ratio, insulin sensitivity factor, blood sugar target and correction factors
• your pharmacy's and doctor's names, addresses and phone numbers
• the make, model and serial number of your insulin pump or continuous glucose monitor
• a copy of your photo ID and health insurance card

In the kit: supplies for at least 1 to 2 weeks

• insulin, and a syringe for every injection — see managing insulin in an emergency for how to store it
• oral diabetes medicines and every other prescription medicine
• a blood sugar (glucose) meter, with extra batteries for it and for your insulin pump
• lancets and lancing devices
• insulin pump supplies, including extra pump sets and insertion devices
• glucagon kits
• ketone strips
• alcohol wipes
• glucose tablets or 15 grams of quick carbs (juice, hard candy or honey) to treat low blood sugar
• an empty container to carry used syringes, needles and lancets safely

Follow each item's storage instructions and check expiration dates every few months. Replace anything close to expiring with fresh supplies — and use the old ones for your daily care before they expire.

Dialysis

If you have dialysis for chronic kidney disease, road closures or power loss can interrupt your treatments. CDC has potentially life-saving tips for when you cannot get dialysis in an emergency, including the 3-day emergency diet.

Emotional health

Disasters and emergencies take a toll. Look after your emotional health too, so you can help yourself and your family — and if you can, connect with family, friends and your community so you look after each other.

If you cannot speak for yourself

Wear a medical ID, usually a bracelet or necklace. Emergency medical technicians are trained to look for one when caring for someone who cannot speak for themselves.

Choosing a shelter

If you have to go to a shelter, find one that can meet your medical needs. Do you:

• have a home health nurse?
• use a walker?
• use oxygen?
• need help going to the bathroom?
• need wound care or medicine through an IV?

If any answer is yes, you should probably look for a special medical needs shelter.

When you arrive, tell someone in charge about your diabetes and any other condition, such as being on dialysis. They can help with medical care and insulin storage.

Sources

Based on "Diabetes Care During Emergencies," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; a work of the United States government in the public domain. The page's photograph was a stock image and is not reproduced.