Safe storage of glucose meter?

[Aoife]

I'm working at a festival at the end of June and I am planning on taking spares of EVERYTHING with me "just in case".

There are facilities for me to store medication in a drugs fridge but for ease and safety I want to keep everything together. I was thinking spare insulin, pen, meter, lancet, glucose strips and blood ketone strips all together in a tupperware type container. But can they all go in a fridge? I don't want to bugger up my meter or test strips by cooling them but I don't want to have bits of equipment in various places and probably losing or forgetting something. (I have had enough problems even getting the ketone strips off my GP)

Does anyone know what temperature they can be stored at safely?

Thanks!

 

[HOBIE]

I think it will knack the batteries but have never tried it

 

[Redkite]

Hi Aoife,

I'm pretty sure the testing strips need to be stored at room temp and shouldn't get too hot or cold (check the box or the leaflet insert - there should be an operating temperature range listed). The meter might not work if the battery gets cold. If it was me I'd be happier keeping all the stuff with me in a small insulated coolbag. Would it be a pain to have to carry it around? Hope you have a great time 🙂

 

[Aoife]

I never though about the battery, my logic was that a medical fridge is between 2?C and 8?C which is just a cool/cold day and it works fine then but I wasn't sure about 5 days at that temp continuously!

Redkite, I will have everything I need on me anyway, these are purely spares incase anything gets lost, broken or stolen. The only other place I could leave things is in my tent which will be safe from thieves as is secure camping but will be at risk from the elements for example rain and flooding (it's not going to rain though) or heat (tents can turn into an oven at times)

I guess I'll have to think this though better, all suggestions gratefully received!

 

[Northerner]

I would have thought they would all be OK in the fridge - as you say, they still work on a cold day, although sometimes you may have to warm up the meter before it will work. I've had to do that some mornings even though mine hasn't been in a fridge, just my bedroom! 😱

I would check the operating temperatures on the various manuals and leaflets - there's usually quite a broad range - and also make sure that the temperature of the fridge is what it says it is (which presumably it will be if lots of people are relying on it). 🙂

 

[Copepod]

The issue with a fridge isn't just temperature, but also humidity. And while air temparatures and humity usually change gradually, a moisture will condense on a cold meter leaving a fridge and entering warm damp air. So, don't put your meter and strips in fridge!

What I do when marshalling on races (and will be doing volunteering at my first ever festival [beer] this week) is to wear cargo trousers / shorts, so that I can keep my insulin pen, spare cartridges, meter & strips literally on my person, in pockets. If it didn't all fit, I'd consider a bum bag, but I have a lightweight rucksack for waterproofs, spare clothing, regular food, water bottle, flask of hot drink, first aid kit, bivvy bag etc - with all that, a pencil case of insulin and meter case is no extra!

Hiding things in tents is an art, worth considering. Avoid making things look like valubles eg wallets, electronic music devices etc. Easier said than done, but wrapping in a sock, and leaving in sleeping bag, for example can disguise.

 

[Redkite]

Just checked on the packaging of freestyle lite strips, and it says 4-30 deg C. Ideally you need 2 boxes, one in the fridge with the insulin pens, and one in another less cold safe storage area.

 

[Aoife]

I checked the temperature of the meter, -25?C to 55?C and an operating temp of 10?C to 50?C so it's just this humidity thing to work around.

Would there still be an issue if it's kept in an air tight container? (please excuse my ignorance on this!)

A pencil case with insulin and meter is no biggy at all, I will be doing that anyway but carrying 2 round seems a little extreme!

 

[Redkite]

I think it wouldn't get any moisture on it while in the fridge, but it's when you take it out you might get problems - like someone who wears glasses coming into a warm room from outside in the cold, their glasses steam up. You'd basically get condensation on it. The meter itself may work in very cold temps, but the batteries may fail - we had a problem with this on a camping trip when temperatures dropped close to zero at night, and in the end had to keep the meter cosy in my sleeping bag! But they did work again when warmed up.

 

[HOBIE]

My test meter in van doesnt like being cold. In van overnight in winter ? Doesnt work