Airport Security X-Rays May Damage Diabetes Devices

HealthDay: 11/21/12

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 21 (HealthDay News) — Full body X-ray scanners and luggage X-rays may damage some insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors, both used by many people with diabetes to manage their conditions.

It’s likely that every day, large numbers of travelers expose these diabetes care devices to X-rays while going through airport security “and some may unknowingly experience mild [or worse] malfunctioning as a result,” wrote the authors of a recent editorial in the journal Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics.

They recommend carrying a letter that details all of the medical supplies someone with diabetes needs to carry on board with them. They also recommend that if someone wears an insulin pump or continuous glucose monitors, the letter specifically state that these devices shouldn’t be subjected to X-rays, either from a full body scanner or the X-ray machine that scans carry-on luggage. Instead, these devices should be hand-checked, according to editorial co-authors Andrew Cornish and Dr. H. Peter Chase, from the University of Colorado Denver. Read More