Travelling to Australia and NZ for two months

[paulapop]

Hi

I am a newly diagnosed type 1 diabetic and I am travelling to Australia and New Zealand in mid-January for two months. I have my travel insurance sorted but my only problem is storing my insulin while away. I bought a Frio insulin wallet to store my in-use insulin but my supply that needs to be refrigerated is the issue as I will be travelling on buses (some overnight ones) down the East Coast of Australia and I won't have access to a refrigerator all the time. I have asked my nurse at the diabetic clinic what I should do and she had no answer for me. Do people have experience using cool bags or what have you used?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Copepod]

Welcome to the forum Paulapop.
You can place your insulin in fridges when you get the chance - it will still be cool after an overnight bus journey. When I've travelled in hot places eg South America, I've used a small stainless steel thermos flask, filled with cool water from a fridge. The advantage of this method over a Frio wallet is that it also protects against knocks and vibration, plus doesn't need to be exposed to air to evaporate and work. For flights, flask will need to be empty of water, but you can cool it first.
The key thing is to keep any insulin out of direct sunlight and away from sources of heat eg radiators and engines at all times. keep it in your hand luggage at all times. Never place inhold of plane nor bus.
In practice, insulin is much tougher than the patient information leaflets suggest.
Have a great trip.

 

[HOBIE]

Really enjoy yourself ! The thing with a Frio is that all it needs is water so can be filled & cooled anytime. When I am away I just re-fill when asleep at nt. (been to Asia on motorbike). Am still here 🙂. Let us know how you got on pls 😎

 

[paulapop]

Thanks for your feedback Copepod and Hobie!! Looking forward to my trip 🙂