A regular travel kit covers the “everything is fine” version of the trip. A sick-day kit covers the version where someone is throwing up in a hotel bathroom at 2am and blood sugars will not behave. We learned the hard way that “we’ll just use hotel stuff” is not a plan. This is the small add-on kit we keep ready for home and for the suitcase.
Not medical advice. Sick-day rules (ketones, when to go to the ER, insulin adjustments) come from your child’s diabetes care team. This post is about what we pack so we are not improvising supplies in a new city.
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Why a separate sick-day kit
Illness plus T1D is a different sport. Appetite disappears, carbs get weird (juice and popsicles only), ketones can show up, and pumps/CGMs still need sites and power. The everyday bag has some of this – not enough when you are away from your home pantry and your usual pharmacy.
We treat this as a sealed pouch that lives next to the main diabetes bag. At home it is grab-and-go for fever nights. On trips it rides in the carry-on with insulin. For the full packing list beyond sick day, see our T1D travel packing checklist.
What goes in our sick-day travel kit
Check and track
- Thermometer – you need a number, not a hand-on-forehead guess, especially overnight in a hotel. A simple no-touch forehead thermometer is quiet enough for a sleeping kid; some families prefer a classic digital oral model – pick what your pediatrician already trusts.
- Ketone test strips (blood or urine, matching what your care team taught you) – do not assume the destination pharmacy will have your brand at midnight. Stock the brand on your clinic sick-day sheet; see our Sick Day page for how we think about ketone gear at home.
- Meter + strips + lancets even if you “only” use a CGM – sick days are when you want a backup reading
- Pen and paper or a notes app template for times, temps, ketones, carbs, and insulin (your brain will not remember the timeline later)
Carbs that still go down when nothing else will
- Glucose tabs – precise, shelf-stable, backpack-friendly (we keep a multi-pack so school, car, and travel pouch all stay stocked)
- Juice boxes or small juice bottles (know the carb count before you open them)
- Gel or liquid glucose if your kid will take it when they refuse solid food
- Electrolyte drinks your endo is okay with – check labels; some are higher carb than you think
- A few easy “sick carbs”: applesauce pouches, crackers, broth packets if your family uses them
If measuring liquids for carb counts is still messy at home, practice before the trip – we wrote a separate post on how we measure liquid carbs.
Devices and insulin still work when you are sick
- Spare CGM sensor / pump site / pods / infusion sets – sick kids roll around in bed and peel tape
- Extra adhesive prep and remover if sites get sweaty with fever (same gear we cover in the Dexcom stick and OmniPod stick posts)
- Backup insulin delivery your care team approved (pen + needles, etc.) if the pump fails mid-illness
- Chargers and a small battery pack – hotels have terrible outlet placement
- Insulin cooler or FRIO-style cooling wallet when heat is a factor
Comfort and “regular sick” stuff
- Fever reducer / pain reliever your pediatrician has already signed off on for your child (dose chart photo in your phone)
- Anti-nausea meds only if prescribed – do not freestyle pharmacy-counter experiments on a T1D sick day
- Tissues, wipes, a small trash bag for a hotel room that turns into a clinic
- Comfort item – the same book or stuffed animal that helps at home helps on the road
Quick buy list (the parts that are easy to forget)
You already own most of this if you live with T1D. The items that tend to be missing from the “grab bag” the night before a flight:
- Quiet thermometer dedicated to the kit (not the one lost in the bathroom drawer)
- Extra glucose tabs so you are not raiding the school box
- Insulin cooling wallet for hot destinations or long days out
- Ketone strips matching your meter / urine method – buy the brand your plan and clinic already use
Rules we follow (with our care team, not the internet)
- Know your clinic’s sick-day sheet before you leave: ketone thresholds, when to call, when to go to ER
- Do not freestyle changes to basal or long-acting insulin because someone is not eating – that is a common risky instinct. Follow your team’s written sick-day rules
- Hydration and frequent checks matter more on the road because you do not have your usual backup adults nearby
- Have a plan for local urgent care / children’s hospital near your hotel before anyone gets sick
Your clinic’s written sick-day plan beats any blog post – including this one. Keep a PDF of it in your phone and a paper copy in the kit.
How we pack it
- One clear zip pouch labeled SICK DAY – T1D so TSA and hotel drawers do not swallow it
- Inside the personal-item bag with insulin – not the checked suitcase
- Check expiration dates the night before any trip (strips, glucagon, fever meds)
- Restock after every use so the next trip starts full
Airport day still follows the same device rules as a healthy travel day. See flying with Type 1 – TSA, pump, and CGM tips so the kit makes it through security without drama.
At home, same kit
We do not rebuild this from the kitchen every time someone gets a fever. The travel pouch doubles as the home sick-day station. Pair it with whatever your family already uses from our Sick Day reference page so you are not hunting three cabinets at midnight.
Related on Diabetes Amigo
- Sick Day reference page
- Travel packing checklist
- TSA / flying with pump and CGM
- Everyday diabetes bag
- How to measure liquid carbs
Bottom line
Build the sick-day kit on a calm afternoon, not during a fever. Pack check tools, ketone strips, easy carbs, device spares, and your clinic’s written plan. Carry it on every trip. Hope you never open it – and be glad it is there when you do.
