What is VoyageMD?

VoyageMD.com

“ A journey is measured in friends not miles”

It is said that travel broadens the mind. I agree with this and so do very many other people. Think of how important travel is for pleasure, for business and for staying in touch with family and friends. The enjoyment from travel is the anticipation and arriving at the destination. Actually getting from A to B is often the least attractive part of a journey. If everything goes according to plan and there are no delays this part of the journey is tolerable. However remember the last time your flight was delayed, the driver didn’t turn up at the airport on time or your hotel was actually not quite so luxurious as the brochure had suggested.

If you have diabetes the hassle associated with travel has the potential to be multiplied many times. People living with diabetes have an unenviable task. They need to spend on average 1-2 hours every day taking care of their condition. Taking care means checking blood glucose levels, balancing the effects of food and exercise, remembering complicated treatment regimens and at the same time putting up with the insecurity that comes with living with a chronic disease and it’s potential to cause serious complications. For people using insulin they have the considerable added challenge of taking their injections (or using an insulin pump) aiming to keep blood glucose levels within acceptable limits but avoiding the scourge of hypoglycaemia.

 If then you add on the complexity of having to travel with diabetes it is not surprising that many report real problems keeping their condition under reasonable control on a trip. Furthermore the problems of changing time zones, unaccustomed exercise, unfamiliar foods, delays, unhelpful airport procedures, loss of vital diabetes medication and monitoring equipment can wreck a holiday or a business trip for someone with diabetes.

Diabetes is not a small problem as estimates suggest that soon more than 300 million people worldwide will be living with the condition. For the 25% who need to take insulin everyday travelling with diabetes has the potential to become a nightmare.

What if a person with diabetes on insulin could chose an airline that understood the problem and could help, what if the hotel could provide important information about meals, where local pharmacies are located, who is the best local source of help for a diabetes-related problem etc. What if a person with diabetes could simply type in their destination and they could instantly access the most affordable “diabetes friendly” airline and stay at the most “diabetes friendly” hotel? What if they could on one click of a mouse also purchase the most “diabetes friendly” travel insurance?

These “what ifs” are not pipe dreams or some fantasy. They can and need to become reality and that is why I have set up VoyageMD.com.

VoyageMD