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Published: April 4th 2018
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Travelling is my passion and as much as I can. Being an ardent reader since I was 10, I've read more than a couple articles and stories about traveling the world and the experiences of travelers. All the traveling I did then was usually from my house to my school less than a kilometer on foot. I figured then, that in a decade's time, I too, would tour the world. More than a decade later, I haven't fully toured my continent, let alone the world. But I'm no longer the 10 year old I was a little over 12 years ago. I have embarked on real trips now; I have been to Ethiopia, Durban, Seychelles, and Kenya. (My top fantasy is to visit Venice).
I’d like to think that for a 23, I haven't done badly. But for my vision, I’d say my travel C.V is still light.
During my last trip to Kenya, I met with other tourists like myself and we formed a team. A member of my new team suffered a diabetic attack, which sort of caused panic and disrupted our schedule. Fortunately, there was no serious damage. That incident is my
inspiration for this article.
You see, I am a diabetic and used to find it difficult to maintain my blood sugar level since my early teen years. Sometimes my sugar level would be low, then, it's suddenly over the roof.
However, I have never had any diabetic attack or emergency in my five years of travelling. And that’s because I follow these simple yet effective procedures whenever I’m embarking on a trip.
Planning Planning and having backups can help avoid any complexities you may encounter on your trips. Ideally, before I embarked on any trip, I pay my doctor a visit. I inform him of my trip and he makes the right medical plan for me. He hands me medicines to prevent an episode and checks my blood sugar condition.
The most important aspect of my medical plan is that he ensures I have a contingency plan for cure if I should find myself in diabetic danger, so it’s safe to say I have my own "Medipack".
During the course of my travels, I have with me a medical card stating my condition in case there’s an emergency. Luckily, I’ve not had one.
One other thing I do is to take enough munchies and glucose with me; munchies to prevent my sugar level dropping and glucose to increase my sugar level if it gets too low.
My experience traveling, especially on air, is that little energy is expended on traveling, so if there’s no emergency, your sugar intake should be regulated. Otherwise, neither the munchies nor the glucose will help you. Lack of planning is suicidal as my experience in Kenya showed. Never go on a trip unprepared!
Balanced Diet Good food sometimes becomes gold when you travel. Over time, what I’ve done is to make a diet plan and pack corresponding provisions. It is hard to make a diet of food regulating your blood sugar level and that’ll also be your preferred taste of food.
Whenever I’m readying for a trip, I take my time and plan everything to detail. Sugar addiction often makes it difficult to plan a balanced diet, and boy, did I love sugar while younger! Well, my
sugar addiction has long been cured as I went through sessions of self-discipline and reading. Nonetheless, I still take utmost care to ensure I pack a balanced meal.
Insulin Prescription When you travel out of a region, time zone does change; these changes can make it hard for insulin infusions and can prompt uncontrolled glucose. On the off chance that you take insulin, converse with your specialist preceding your trip to help schedule when your shots should be taken. By and large, when you’re traveling east, the day ends up shorter so you may require less insulin. On the flip side, if traveling west, you’re adding hours to the day and may require more insulin.
Traveling and managing blood sugar as concepts do not exactly go together, but I've managed to do both for more than five years without any incidence, all thanks to the above regimen. My diabetic condition has not stopped me from pursuing my passion. It, or any other adverse medical condition, shouldn’t stop you as well.
My time in Kenya was still awesome though, the picture above was taken there. Expect the full story in my next blog.
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