Travel and refrigeration of Insulin

[CathyFP]

Hi,
I’ve only been T1 and on Insulin for one year. I’m trying to work out if I can do a short walking holiday in the Cotswolds walking between different B&Bs. I would walk with a daypack and have some luggage transferred for me. Has anyone done anything like this as a T1?

What I can’t work out is how to ensure spare Insulin is kept cool enough. How have people managed this? I have used the pouches you soak in water when flying but have so far always put my spare insulin in a fridge on arrival. Would it be sufficient to use these pouches all day to keep spare insulin cool?

I would be extremely grateful for any suggestions.

Thanks

 

[Inka]

I’d just take my pens plus some spare cartridges. I’d either put the spares in a Frio pack or, most likely, would just put them in my backpack. Insulin is fine out of the fridge for 28 days unless you leave it in very hot places.

 

[SB2015]

Hi @CathyFP

That sounds like a good holiday. If you are going for a week it is likely that your pens in use will be sufficient for that time. We still need to have access to spares with you in case of breakage or problems with the insulin. Many people take their spare insulin in a frio bag. These are soaked in water and then carried with access to air flow (pocket of your day sack) and they will stay cool. Another way is to put the insulin in a flask. I use this as I can then stuff it inside the day sack and there is no chance of it falling it out.

I look forward to hearing how the trip goes.

 

[helli]

Insulin is fine out of the fridge for 30 days so you should have no issues, especially if you use Frio pouches.
I have done walking holidays in hotter places like Morocco and Venezuela for a week or more where I have camped for a week with no access to a fridge. My spare insulin has been fine.

Enjoy the Cotswolds. They are beautiful with some great walks between the villages.
If it was me, I would keep all diabetes supplies, including spare insulin in my day pack. Just in case the transferred luggage goes awry or gets left next to a hot radiator.

 

[SimonP]

Insulin will last for ~30 days unrefrigerated. I would accept that both your in-use and backup insulin will have reduced life once you finish your holiday. A Frio bag might work well for you in this situation as it will have decent airflow.

When travelling, I usually take a small coolbag to ensure that insulin doesn't get hot if a bag is left in the sun.

If I am going to put the insulin in a fridge at my destination I also tend to put some ice in the bag (in another plastic bag) to keep it cooler than ambient. The advantage of a bag with a clip is that ice is easy to source wherever you are, whereas cool packs need a freezer so are generally one-shot wonders.

Not too much though as I don't want it to get too cold. If in the box there is sufficient air gap to prevent any risk of the insulin freezing (I also used to pop in a piece of cardboard between the ice and insulin for very long journeys when I might put more ice in).

YMMV, I realise this approach is frowned upon by many on the forum, but it worked well for me on dozens of flights to Australia and many dozens of flights around Europe, and it might work for you as you're staying at B&Bs.

FWIW I would also take the backup insulin with me in my day pack, rather than leave it in the transfer luggage unless you trust whomever is transferring it (so it doesn't get left in a hot car/in the sun/lost.)

Have fun! 🙂

 

[Proud to be erratic]

An alternative form of simple insulated packaging is a padded envelope. Economic and certainly fine within a backpack whilst walking in UK. I might make more effort in an August heatwave!!

 

[CathyFP]

Thanks everyone. I didn’t know that insulin is ok outside a fridge for 30 days. I think I will use frio pouches in my day pack. All your advice is very helpful and makes me much more hopeful that I could manage this holiday.

 

[rebrascora]

The unused insulin can then go back in the fridge when you get home and just mark on it how many days it has been out so that you know roughly how many days of the 30 it has left and use it first when you need a new cartridge/pen. Hope you have a great walking holiday and the weather is kind to you.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Have a brilliant time @CathyFP

A Frio is my go-to for spare supplies when camping. When on pens I’d just bury my pencil case of diabetes guff in the middle of my day pack (which protects it a little on a sunny day).

I do make sure I note any spare insulin vials/carts that have been stored in Frio rather than fridge if they’ve been left in a warm tent though. Just to keep an extra eye on them when I get around to using them.

There are little med fridges that you can run off of car cigarette lighters I think, (and possibly USB/solar these days?!) but I’ve never felt the need to bother with them.

 

[SimonP]

There are little med fridges that you can run off of car cigarette lighters I think, (and possibly USB/solar these days?!) but I’ve never felt the need to bother with them.

When I was first diagnosed my parents tried one of those (when we used to drive down to Spain) but I don't think it was markedly better than a coolbox/bag with icepacks (and other cold stuff - see thermal inertia comment later), though depends on how long you're travelling for an how long away from icemaking facilities - certainly it used to warm up quite quickly when powered off, so adding some liquid bulk inside improved thermal inertia, but it was also quite small so there wasn't that much scope.

Of course things may have changed in the intervening 40-odd years, but Peltier coolers are still what they were and I'm not sure insulation technologies have really moved on particularly either. They are probably cheaper tho! 🙂

 

[Lucyr]

A frio only keeps insulin at 18-26c, so no point using it this time of year in the uk

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

When I was first diagnosed my parents tried one of those (when we used to drive down to Spain) but I don't think it was markedly better than a coolbox/bag with icepacks (and other cold stuff - see thermal inertia comment later), though depends on how long you're travelling for an how long away from icemaking facilities - certainly it used to warm up quite quickly when powered off, so adding some liquid bulk inside improved thermal inertia, but it was also quite small so there wasn't that much scope.

Of course things may have changed in the intervening 40-odd years, but Peltier coolers are still what they were and I'm not sure insulation technologies have really moved on particularly either. They are probably cheaper tho! 🙂

Interesting @SimonP

Many years ago a neighbour was away for a spell and said we could have their delivery of frozen meat (they’d signed up to some regular annual delivery x times a year).

When it arrived, it was packed in a box wadded with a thick lining of Sheep’s wool, made into sort of aerated blocks. The contents were still completely frozen, despite having been driven around in an unrefrigerated van for however long.

Wool is a spectacular natural insulator of warmth getting out AND heat getting in.

 

[SimonP]

Interesting @SimonP

Many years ago a neighbour was away for a spell and said we could have their delivery of frozen meat (they’d signed up to some regular annual delivery x times a year).

When it arrived, it was packed in a box wadded with a thick lining of Sheep’s wool, made into sort of aerated blocks. The contents were still completely frozen, despite having been driven around in an unrefrigerated van for however long.

Wool is a spectacular natural insulator of warmth getting out AND heat getting in.

Yes I've heard of that, the meat itself also has a high specific heat capacity (as it's mainly water) so takes ages to defrost - as demonstrated by my need to microwave things which I've forgotten to take out of the freezer early enough!

The 12V coolbag we had didn't have a vastly thick outer insulating layer, presumably the design trade-off was that as the Peltier cooler was sufficient to keep the contents cold while running (at some ambient in-vehicle temperature) they wanted to optimise the volume while still keeping the whole unit small enough to fit in the central rear legroom gap of a typical car (so as not to impede loading children!).

 

[Catlady 1]

I am also new to this, and recently went to, and travelled around, Malaysia….so hot. Put insulin I was using in a Frio pack which was great, and took my spares in specific thermos with freezer carton insert (easy to buy on line), and everything worked. This Leo it basically at fridge temperature for 18 hrs or so.