I just got back from Baseball Spring Training in Arizona. DO NOT go thru the scanners at football and baseball stadiums. Do NOT let them use the hand scanners because these are set at a higher frequency than the scanners you walk through. They can “burn” your pump and sensors and make them not work correctly or not work at all.
In Arizona I found every stadium was different. Not every one was trained. When anyone walked towards me with a hand scanner I stopped and asked them to please turn it off before they approached me. When people who were trained came to assist they just asked to see my pump and the tubing. No pat down and I did not have to show where tubing was connected to my body. Keep in mind that not everyone is trained on what can happen to an insulin pump when they use a hand scanner on you. (It should be in the book of things to know when they train folks!)
Experienced different TSA scans at different airports. TSA still does not train ALL their personnel about insulin pumps and sensors which can lead to unnecessary roughness when they do a pat down. Just be prepared. If they ask if you, “would you like me to do the pat down in private?” know they will do a thorough, complete, pat down. Unless you want to expose your stomach to everyone in the security area I would recommend a private pat down. Also I said that I would not go through the one scanner they pointed to the other type of body scanner. The TSA person had no idea about insulin pumps and again I said I needed to have a pat down because of a medical devise I cannot go through the scanner. They also seem to always ask if I have a pacemaker.
If you know anyone that works in the management of TSA please tell them about training their employees about insulin pumps and sensors.
My wife and I both have pumps and have gone through countless TSA scans over the years and never a problem. Literally I couldn’t count how many times we have gone through security
Medtronic’s advice is that it is OK to pass through metal detectors but not full body scanners. This is the link for the Medtronic advice on the matter:
this is the advice for for XRays etc:
Note: I am a Medtronic ambassador. My opinions are my own. They did not pay me to say nice things about Medtronic devices or the company. OK, they sent me a shirt and a cup but even I am more expensive than that.
Long before I was a ship captain I was in charge of security on passenger ships. I have scanned, swiped, patted, and groped thousands of diabetics and never caused a pump malfunction.
I go through metal detectors multiple times a day at work and have never had an issue. I went through the full bocy scanner at an airport once because I was all but forced into it by the TSA agent who swore that I couldn’t go through the metal detector and that the full body scanner “wasn’t x-rays”… He was causing so much issue, and of course all my other stuff including the bag with my other supplies was just sitting on the other end of the conveyor where anyone can grab it because they have ZERO security other than the people scanning people (my wife had a bracelet stolen when we went through TSA leaving for the trip and I still have a feeling that it was one of the agents hidden behind the curtain checking stuff on the conveyor), I just went through it. It didn’t mess anything up though thankfully, but I wouldn’t want to risk it more than once.
