How many of us plan this well? Here are a couple good lists of things we as diabetics should have, particularly in winter when we could realistically be cut off from the pharmacy and grocery store for a few days. Don’t live in the snow belt? How about hurricanes, tornadoes, wild fires, mud slides, or sudden unplanned for trips?
Emergency Supplies List, from Diabetes Advocacy
In Case of Emergency, from DiabetesMine
Interestingly, to me, both these lists are focused on a being-stuck-at-home emergency. At least that’s how they read to me. To be honest, I never really thought about this, even when I was on insulin. But where I live, if we get even an inch of snow, we’re pretty well trapped in the house until it melts. Pretty, pretty area. Steep, steep hills.
But even without a good home emergency kit, I think most of us should be able to manage a few days. (That said, feel free to remind me of how often I wait till the last minute to refill a prescription.) What about the on-the-road emergency? When moved to Wyoming, the first thing that was given to me was a pamphlet about surviving a blizzard in your car. More than once, I started out somewhere in fine weather and had a sudden blizzard dump a foot or more of snow on me. And consider those poor folks in New York last month. Emergencies happen.
I talk to people with diabetes all the time (cough, like myself) who don’t even have a snack in the car. I do have my meter with me pretty much all the time, now, so that’s good. And I have a piece of candy or two in my bag, but nothing else these days. I tend to think I’m safe since I have type 2 and being high or not having a snack is less likely to be a big issue for me. That’s probably true even though I did prove repeatedly last year that people with type 2 can suddenly have a sticky low that doesn’t want to come up even with juice and food.
But, seriously, I know many people with type 1 (or insulin using type 2) that don’t carry glucose tabs or a snack on them, often don’t have a meter on them, and don’t carry insulin all the time. How often do you hear a story from someone with a sudden low who is forced to beg juice or soda while trying to explain that they’re diabetic and yes it really is a matter of life and death? Now take that low and put it in a car stuck in traffic a couple hours or caught in a snowstorm or delayed by an accident. A car emergency kit suddenly makes a whole lot of sense.
I’m curious what our readers (and they tell me we still have readers) keep as an emergency kit at home, on their person, or in their car. I’m going to be rethinking this and making up a car emergency kit again – and getting a better snack than “I think I have a piece of candy in here” for my purse. What about you?
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