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New to insulin
- Thread starter Sgibbo
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Bruce Stephens
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Look at Frio pouches.
Bruce Stephens
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- Type 1
Also read this https://www.cochrane.org/CD015385/ENDOC_temperature-and-storage-conditions-human-insulin
It turns out modern insulin is much more robust than we think.
It turns out modern insulin is much more robust than we think.
I just use an insulated lunchbag from Sainsbury's, to carry my insulin and lancets and sharps box.
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Welcome to the forum @Sgibbo
Only your ‘stockpile’ of spare insulin needs to actively be kept cool in most circumstances. Your in-use pen should be fine at UK ambient temperatures for 28 days, by which time it will most likely be used up.
Avoid obvious extremes like leaving it in a hot car (or overnight in a cold car where it might freeze), but by and large in-use insulin can just be carried with you, or kept somewhere convenient at home. 🙂
It depends where you are travelling.
In the UK it is incredibly rare to need to cool in-use insulin.
But when travelling somewhere hot where I will be spending long periods outside with no shade for my insulin (including in a car with no air conditioning), I have been using my Frio wallets for the last 20 years. These are compact, require no electricity and very easy to use. They do not keep your insulin "fridge cold" but it is cool enough for day to day use and transportation between fridges (although I usually avoid hotel fridges as they can be unreliable).
In the UK it is incredibly rare to need to cool in-use insulin.
But when travelling somewhere hot where I will be spending long periods outside with no shade for my insulin (including in a car with no air conditioning), I have been using my Frio wallets for the last 20 years. These are compact, require no electricity and very easy to use. They do not keep your insulin "fridge cold" but it is cool enough for day to day use and transportation between fridges (although I usually avoid hotel fridges as they can be unreliable).
Bruce Stephens
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They don't need to be kept in that range. No harm if you can (and if you needed to keep insulin for a long time (several months) I'm sure it would help), but the Cochrane review I linked shows it's not necessary for most of us, most of the time.
When I've been abroad I put my pens in a coolbag (just a normal insulated lunch bag from Sainsbury's), with a frozen ice block in it just before I leave home. The ice block defrosts very slowly (as long as you keep the bag zipped shut!) and keeps the pens cool for a long time.
rebrascora
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What many of us do is record the number of days our unopened insulin has been out of the fridge, but when it goes back in the fridge that count stops. So say I am flying from UK to Canada and it is perhaps out of the fridge for 2 days whilst I am travelling from home to my destination and then I put it in the fridge in Canada and then if my current one runs out a week later. I have 28 days (30 minus 2 days) to use up that new cartridge. Basically you only count the time it is out of the fridge, from the 30 days it can be used. Obviously you make sure it is not exposed to extremes of temperature during that travel period and that is when a Frio can come in handy, although with them being a gel coolant, some overly officious airport security might take exception, but the cabin temp in planes and the airport are usually maintained at a very comfortable temperature which should not require a Frio. I just went to Tenerife for a few days and whilst I took a Frio, just in case it was really hot, I didn't need it. I just kept it in the fridge door in our villa and my "in use" pens on my person or next to the bed at night and all were fine. I have just finished one of the spare insulin pens that was put back in the fridge on my return to the UK.
You do have to be a little cautious about using fridges abroad or even here in the UK in case they accidentally malfunction and freeze your insulin but usually even if the temp drops too low, the top of the fridge door is the last place to freeze, so should be safe.
You do have to be a little cautious about using fridges abroad or even here in the UK in case they accidentally malfunction and freeze your insulin but usually even if the temp drops too low, the top of the fridge door is the last place to freeze, so should be safe.
I avoid letting my insulin get close to ice (even if it is defrosting) as insulin can be damaged if it gets too cold (one of the reasons I do not trust hotel fridges).
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Insulin can be kept out of the fridge at "room temperature" for a month.
And, as @Bruce Stephens explains, this is quite a conservative guide.
I would be comfortable taking my insulin in Frios for that length of time. Plus, if there are any issues, you can buy insulin in Canada - it is not silly expensive there like USA.
Type1Travelling
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If you are travelling short term then I would recommend a "Frio" wallet or a "Chiller" wallet from 4AllFamily to keep insulin at a safe room temperature.
Alternatively, for longer trips I recommend the 4AllFamily portable travel fridge which stores insulin at fridge temperature and runs on a battery pack or you can use the reusable freeze pack.
I have travelled internationally with all three of these products and love them!