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Frio wallets

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Hello,

I use Frio wallets whenever I go abroad and I find them really good.

I've got the large pocket one you linked to and also the duo pen wallet here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/FRIO-Duo-Insulin-Cool-Wallet/dp/B001LNWESG/ref=pd_bxgy_d_img_y

I use the large pocket one to keep my spare insulin cool if the place doesn't have a fridge, and I take my fast and slow pens with me in the duo pen wallet.

I've used them in Florida, Spain and Thailand and have always found them to be really good. From memory, I think once you've put them in water they will stay cool for about 5-7 days.

My only tip would be to follow the instructions carefully and avoid letting them absorb too much water, especially the duo wallet as I once let it swell so much I couldn't get the pens in :(
 
Hi Cleo,

We have used them in the UK when its been hot - but did make the mistake of putting it in the fridge once and it froze!:D Not sure whether the particular fridge was set too cold or whether your not supposed to put them in in the first place. They are good but dont leave them in the water for too long as they bloat up and it can be difficult to get enough supplies in.🙂I think they are only guaranteed for 72 hours and you have to plunge them in cold water again.🙂Bev
 
I led a 4 week expedition to Costa Rica in July 1997, less than a year after starting on insulin. I didn't take a Fio wallet, just a stainless steel vaccuum flask that I already owned. Plus, a plastic tub given me by a pharmacist friend - I removed the label and wrote "insulina, s?lo en el refrigerador, no en el congelador, no en el calor" "insulin, only in fridge, not in freezer, not in heat" in permanent pen on both lid and pot - for use when we stayed at hotels / guest houses / shops (during home stay with family with no fridge), in between camping.

Hope you like rain, mud, rice and beans. June is in season called "invierno" in Costa Rica, but really it's rainier season (it rains to some extent all year round, just more May to November). So, unsurfaced roads acan become impassable to vehicles, although you can usuallly get through on foot, river crossings permitting. Of course, if you visit Canalete, you'll find a very fine footbridge, built by my friends in 1992/3. It's a tiny village, with no reason for tourists to visit.

It was great visiting new places and places I'd last visited when a leader an international youth & development project in 1992/3. At Santa Elena, the community run rainforest reserve near the much better known (and largely foreign owned) Monteverde, I met a young man who I didn't know, but as soon as I mentioned the name of the organisation (with Costa Rican / Canadian / Australian / Guyanese members), in Spanish, obviously, he insisted on showing me round vistor centre, giving me a guidebook for trails, refusing entry fee or payment for book etc.

Viajar bien!
 
I use one and am using now as im in Spain. I do keep it in the hotel fridge and have just topped up with water once. As Bev said be careful if you put in fridge that its not too cold
 
Hi there

I have been using frio bags for years. I have been to Thailand, Singapore, Australia and lots of European countries in summer. The frio kept all my insulin in good condition for 5 weeks where there was no refrigeration and it was exceptionally hot. They are not meant to be put in the fridge, they are meant to be kept where there is sufficient ventilation as they work through evaporation of the water from the Frio. So when all the water has evaporated you need to immerse in water again (well, before it's all evaporated they need topping up obviously). If you put them in a fridge the water is not evaporating - of course the fridge is keeping things cool, but it renders the frio pointless, you might as well just put the insulin in the fridge. I agree, they will continue to absorb water and swell if you leave them for too long in too much water and then you can't get them in the outer case, nor can you get supplies into them. Eventually with experience you'll be able to guage how much water is needed/how much time for them to soak. They do come with good instructions.

BTW the Amazon price is excellent, cheaper than direct from Friouk.co.uk
 
Another happy user here, I use them when camping to keep spare insulin cold.

As others have mentioned it's easy to leave them in the water too long so do keep an eye on them. That said I've found as it's ages it seems to take longer to absorb water. I also find a quick top up is needed every couple of days, though it takes a week or more to dry out completly when I get home.

The idea is that the water is able to evaporate and keep the contents cold so I keep mine in a mesh pocket on the side of the bag. I understood you shouldn't pu them in a fridge though.
 
Another FRIO user here 🙂

I think they are very good.
But I made the same mistake as Bev. I put the Frio bag in the fridge. Only after a few weeks of high bloods did I realise that this ruined the insulin 😱

Enjoy your holiday
 
Thanks so much to everyone - your feedback has been very helpful!. We're going there on our honeymoon so I dont want any diabetes related problems!....I will definitely read the instructions beforehand (I never do!..) so I dont ruin the insulin. 🙂

Pattidevans said:
BTW the Amazon price is excellent, cheaper than direct from Friouk.co.uk
Click to expand...

I always buy things on Amazon - I do genuinely want to support small businesses but amazon is just so convenient ! 🙂. I am terrible I know!.

Copepod said:
I led a 4 week expedition to Costa Rica in July 1997, less than a year after starting on insulin. I didn't take a Fio wallet, just a stainless steel vaccuum flask that I already owned. Plus, a plastic tub given me by a pharmacist friend - I removed the label and wrote "insulina, s?lo en el refrigerador, no en el congelador, no en el calor" "insulin, only in fridge, not in freezer, not in heat" in permanent pen on both lid and pot - for use when we stayed at hotels / guest houses / shops (during home stay with family with no fridge), in between camping.

Viajar bien!
Click to expand...

I am impressed with your Spanish !. We're flying into San Jose and then head off to the Savegre cloud Forest, then Manuel Antonio national park, Arenal volcano and then santa teresa beach for 5 days. We wanted to go to a coffee plantation outside san jose which is run by an indigenous community but unfortunately had to take that as there wasnt enough time.

And yes I have read about the rice and beans (carb overload anyone?!), but really looking forward to the experience and the Latinos are such nice and friendly people so should be great !!!
 
Well, I was head hunted partly because I can speak Spanish 🙂

I only typed out what would be useful for you to write on a tub, not wanting to show off.

However, the dish called rice with beans or arroz con frijoles in most other Latin American countries is called "gallo pinto" (speckled rooster) in by "Ticos" (Costa Ricans - who prefer that term to Latinos) and is an example of "comida typica" (typical food or typical meal), sometime sold as part of a "plato completo" (set meal).

I think Savegre is in Parque Nacional Los Quetzales (but no guarantees you'll see the bird species in the name). Nearest I got to there was a week in Tapanti Reserva, collecting rainforest plants with a biologist from Museo Nacional, plus an international group of young people, and finding tarantulas, getting very muddy, quite cold, as only washing water was in streams, and clothes and towels hung up to dry don't dry in rainforest. A wonderful experience 🙂

Manuel Antonio is drier, at least in places, with lovely beaches, apparently - the only beach I got to know was at Uvita, SW of Dominical on Pacific Coast where we worked with community members to build an extra classroom - great to be able to wash off sweat and dust in the sea after a day's work. Volcano Arenal - depends on what it's doing and how close / high up slopes you can get.
 
I agree they dont need to go in a fridge. I use them as they keep things cool for the 12 hors etc you are travelling but its easier to pop in the fridge once there as i dont like taking all the stuff out etc. just easier. I make sure i top it up and all ready for my journey home when i leave.
 
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