Keeping insulin cold on holiday in heat

K

Kwilkins

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Does anyone please have any advice on keeping pens cold on holiday in hot countries, we can use the fridges around the pool but if we go out for a day we have found that the frio bags still get too warm if you are out in 30 degree heat for 6 hours+ . Does anyone have anything else they’ve successfully used?
 
Kwilkins said:
Does anyone please have any advice on keeping pens cold on holiday in hot countries, we can use the fridges around the pool but if we go out for a day we have found that the frio bags still get too warm if you are out in 30 degree heat for 6 hours+ .
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So long as the temperature is 30C and they're not in the sun (so you can get some kind of shade at least most of the time) they probably are "cold enough", really. If you're on the beach for hours I doubt there's much you can practically do beyond using a shade, perhaps digging a hold in the sand, but presuming you're walking around the insulin will be fine.

You're right that Frio isn't going to be able to keep insulin under 20C (let along under 10C), but it turns out that's fine. See https://www.cochrane.org/CD015385/ENDOC_temperature-and-storage-conditions-human-insulin

Certainly I've used Frio to keep my insulin cool enough when the air temperature has been 30C. (Just a few weeks ago in the UK, for example.)
 
Kwilkins said:
Does anyone please have any advice on keeping pens cold on holiday in hot countries, we can use the fridges around the pool but if we go out for a day we have found that the frio bags still get too warm if you are out in 30 degree heat for 6 hours+ . Does anyone have anything else they’ve successfully used?
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I don't know but communal fridges are not a good idea, you can never be sure of the temperature and random people going in and out.
 
Frio wallets are perfectly ok for temperatures higher than 30 degrees.
Not only is insulin ok out of the fridge while in use, you will not be leaving your insulin in direct sunlight or in a car.

I also agree with @Leadinglights to avoid using communal fridges. There is absolutely no need to do so and the risk of losing the insulin is too high.

I have used Frio in much higher temperatures for whole weeks where there is no sign of a fridge for miles (I have been hiking and camping in Venezuela, Morocco and India) and had no problems.
I would recommend keeping it in the middle of your bag out of sunlight and with additional insulation from whatever else you have in there.
 
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Kwilkins said:
Does anyone please have any advice on keeping pens cold on holiday in hot countries, we can use the fridges around the pool but if we go out for a day we have found that the frio bags still get too warm if you are out in 30 degree heat for 6 hours+ . Does anyone have anything else they’ve successfully used?
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Your insulin doesn't have to be kept cold, just not too hot, so I am sure that the Frio will be doing enough to prevent it going off. If you think about it, those people who have insulin in a pump attached to their body are not keeping that insulin cold. As long as it isn't getting above a temperature which your body finds uncomfortable, it should be fine.

I have just bought a Frio to go to Tenerife for a few days next month and have no worries it will do the job..... just wish I could get one big enough to put myself in it.... I am not a fan of the heat, but going out to visit my brother and his wife who live there for their 50th Wedding Anniversary. Why could they not have planned it better and got married in the winter, or moved to somewhere cooler!!
 
Bruce Stephens said:
So long as the temperature is 30C and they're not in the sun (so you can get some kind of shade at least most of the time) they probably are "cold enough", really. If you're on the beach for hours I doubt there's much you can practically do beyond using a shade, perhaps digging a hold in the sand, but presuming you're walking around the insulin will be fine.

You're right that Frio isn't going to be able to keep insulin under 20C (let along under 10C), but it turns out that's fine. See https://www.cochrane.org/CD015385/ENDOC_temperature-and-storage-conditions-human-insulin

Certainly I've used Frio to keep my insulin cool enough when the air temperature has been 30C. (Just a few weeks ago in the UK, for example.)
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Thank you, we’ve just found that the pen gets too hot even in a frio bag, if you are out in the heat all day (on a day trip) and then it has started to crystallise and therefore become ineffective unfortunately
 
helli said:
Frio wallets are perfectly ok for temperatures higher than 30 degrees.
Not only is insulin ok out of the fridge while in use, you will not be leaving your insulin in direct sunlight or in a car.

I also agree with @Leadinglights to avoid using communal fridges. There is absolutely no need to do so and the risk of losing the insulin is too high.

I have used Frio in much higher temperatures for whole weeks where there is no sign of a fridge for miles (I have been hiking and camping in Venezuela, Morocco and India) and had no problems.
I would recommend keeping it in the middle of your bag out of sunlight and with additional insulation from whatever else you have in there.
Click to expand...
Thank you I’m glad it has always been successful for you, we’ve had 2 occasions now where being out in the heat for a good few hours has caused trouble with the pen and I didn’t know if there was anything else on the market worth trying, but frio seems to be the one.
 
You just need to remember that the Frio pouch needs reasonable air circulation in order to work efficiently. On a recent hot trip I foolishly put my Frio into a small sealed section of my rucksack and this together with a warm day ruined my insulin - luckily for me the vial was nearly empty.
 
Kwilkins said:
but frio seems to be the one.
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Yes, I think so. There are other things you might try, like insulation (a good quality flask with something suitably cold in it (not frozen, but cold)). I could imagine that being effective over hours, especially if you can replace the cold thing in it over the day. (Maybe a flask big enough that you could put a cold drinks can or bottle in?)
 
JohnS said:
You just need to remember that the Frio pouch needs reasonable air circulation in order to work efficiently. On a recent hot trip I foolishly put my Frio into a small sealed section of my rucksack and this together with a warm day ruined my insulin - luckily for me the vial was nearly empty.
Click to expand...

I was quite surprised that it the Frio pouch doesn't come with a mesh bag that can be clipped or tied onto the outside of a bag or rucksack so that it can breath/evaporate, rather than being in a bag where it can't breath. Surely it needs the water to be able to evaporate in order to work effectively and I am not sure I want something inside my bag making other stuff damp.

@Kwilkins If your Frio is not lasting for a day out then why not rehydrate it half way through the day. I know it isn't ideal as it is something else to think about. I am assuming that you are following the instructions by soaking it for 8-10 mins when completely dry or 3-4 mins when recharging.

Another suggestion I have seen is to placing it in a thermos flask but that is obviously bulkier and difficult to cool once it has been opened to access the insulin. It should protect it from excessive heat though.
 
rebrascora said:
If your Frio is not lasting for a day out then why not rehydrate it half way through the day.
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I wondered about this but as I found my Frio wallets remaining hydrated for 4 or 5 days in very hot weather I am surprised if it is not lasting.
Is it possible that today’s Frio wallets are not as good as they were 20 years ago?

As for clipping a mesh bag onto the outside of your rucksack (sorry I am responding to your message out of order), wouldn’t that mean it was in direct sunlight.
My (old) Frio wallets came with very thick canvas outer wallets that soaked up most of the dampness from the inners but are porous enough to allow the evaporation. I never found the contents of my rucksack getting wet because of the Frios.
 
Bruce Stephens said:
So long as the temperature is 30C and they're not in the sun (so you can get some kind of shade at least most of the time) they probably are "cold enough", really. If you're on the beach for hours I doubt there's much you can practically do beyond using a shade, perhaps digging a hold in the sand, but presuming you're walking around the insulin will be fine.

You're right that Frio isn't going to be able to keep insulin under 20C (let along under 10C), but it turns out that's fine. See https://www.cochrane.org/CD015385/ENDOC_temperature-and-storage-conditions-human-insulin

Certainly I've used Frio to keep my insulin cool enough when the air temperature has been 30C. (Just a few weeks ago in the UK, for example.)
Click to expand...

JohnS said:
You just need to remember that the Frio pouch needs reasonable air circulation in order to work efficiently. On a recent hot trip I foolishly put my Frio into a small sealed section of my rucksack and this together with a warm day ruined my insulin - luckily for me the vial was nearly empty.
Click to expand...
Thank you that’s a good thing to remember
 
Bruce Stephens said:
Yes, I think so. There are other things you might try, like insulation (a good quality flask with something suitably cold in it (not frozen, but cold)). I could imagine that being effective over hours, especially if you can replace the cold thing in it over the day. (Maybe a flask big enough that you could put a cold drinks can or bottle in?)
Click to expand...
Thank you, we were thinking of trying a wide neck chilly’s bottle - would you need to put water/ice cubes in the flask too do you think with the pen in a waterproof bag?
 
Kwilkins said:
Thank you, we were thinking of trying a wide neck chilly’s bottle - would you need to put water/ice cubes in the flask too do you think with the pen in a waterproof bag?
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I'd be cautious of using ice cubes, but yes, there's obvious benefit in using something like cold water to help keep things cool.
 
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