Frio

[jameshallam]

Just been reading about Frio (for those who don't know check out: http://www.friouk.com/)
Does anyone have one of these - are they any good.

As I am an engineer I am quite interested in how these work, I've read what it says on the website which doesn't really go into any detail other than 'crystals' and 'evaporation'. Anyone have anymore info? I tried Mr Google, but there is a distinct lack of info on the subject...

Cheers,
James

 

[kay957]

Looks good, especially if your on holiday and have no fridge to keep insulin cool. Luckily with Victoza we don't need to keep ours cool, only for storing it until we use it.

 

[suzi]

Hi James,
Bought a Frio bag for my son last year to use when travelling. Basically you soak the inner cloth pouch that contains the crystals in water, they absorb the water and increase in size. Slip into the outer pouch and heypresto its like a little mini fridge that keeps insulin cool. You do have to check every now and then for drying out as the water in the crystals evaporate after time and the coolness is lost, but then you just soak in water again. Just make sure you don't soak for too long as you won't have room to put anything in when the crystals expand, then you have to wait until the crystals evaporate (we did this by placing it on a warm radiator.)
Hope this helps, we found the Frio bag worth the investment, and use it often.
Suzi x

 

[cugila]

Looks good, especially if your on holiday and have no fridge to keep insulin cool. Luckily with Victoza we don't need to keep ours cool, only for storing it until we use it.

That's not strictly true. ALL injectable drugs should be kept cool when in use.
This is the manufacturers guidelines for storage:
Before opening Victoza has to be kept in a refrigerator (2°C - 8°C). Do not freeze. Keep away from the freezer compartment.
During use:
You can keep the pen for 1 month when stored at a temperature below 30°C or in a refrigerator (2°C -
8°C), away from the freezer compartment. Do not freeze.

When you are not using the pen, keep the pen cap on in order to protect from light.

If you are like me and have a large glassed area the Temp can go well over 30 Deg C in no time at all, even in the winter months. Just the other day the temp in my flat was 33 Deg C, no heating on !!

When travelling then Temp's can soar dramatically and it must be kept cool, otherwise it will ruin the drug. Just the same as with Insulin and Byetta.

 

[timo2]

Hi James,

Frio wallets work surprisingly well. The hotter it is, the harder they work and the more of a difference you'll notice between what you're cooling and the ambient temperature. However, they also tend to dry out quicker a higher temps, so need resoaking more often.

Evaporative cooling is a physical phenomenon in which evaporation of a liquid, typically into surrounding air, cools an object or a liquid in contact with it.

A simple example of natural evaporative cooling is perspiration, or sweat, which the body secretes in order to cool itself. The amount of heat transfer depends on the evaporation rate, which in turn depends on the humidity of the air and its temperature...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evaporative_cooler

 

[arjster]

Have you read this: http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetic-products/frio-carry-cases.html - it's not much, but might be of help?

 

[SophiaW]

On the recommendation of our diabetes nurse we bought the insulin pouches and some drinks bottle pouches (all Frio) for when we went on holiday to Spain a couple years ago. We knew that we'd be out most of the day at the beach and basically in hot weather all day. Even in the hot weather of Spain they stayed moist and cool for about 2 days before they needed "re-charging". They worked beautifully, I would recommend them.

 

[kegstore]

Had anyone ever had a problem with these Frio pouches? Such as not really working that well? I follow the instructions carefully but mine never seems to get cold (enough?), just a bit damp. Unless I'm expecting chillblast style cooling that's never going to happen!

 

[lilibet]

Hi
Mines was ok to start with and I use it all the time now to take basal and bolus with me, and sometimes need to store the penfill to change it over

On hols it was fab but now my two pen pouch seems to dry out very quickly.

 

[jameshallam]

It looks like the single pen wallet is big enough to put two pens in - is this right?
But then again, everyone has said the crystals do expand a lot. And I'm sure a company specializing in insulin storage would get the size right!

 

[SophiaW]

Buy the size they recommend on their website, the pouches do expand once they fill out so if they say it's suitable for one pen then it is.

 

[SReynolds]

Just to check - I presume that the frio wallets are suitabel only for protecting insulin from excessive (30+ DegC) temperatures, and are not going to extend its life as it would if stored in a fridge at 2-5 DegC?
In other words, any cartridges that are "stored" in a frio bag must be used within the 1 month shelf life?
Also, if the cartidge is removed froma fridge and is warmed up to ambient UK temp for arguments sake, does it have to be used within the month, or will it be preserved for longer if put backj in the fridge, and if so how long can it be "safely" left out? None of this info I can find on the leaflet.

 

[HLW]

Yes if you use frio it's still one month use by date, not like keeping in a fridge.
Not sure about taking insulin out of the fridge then putting it back. It's out of the fridge for a bit when you first get it though. Ring the company that makes your insulin, they'll be able to tell you.

 

[jane22]

I bought a frio pouch to take my Byetta to a hot country. Once used it has to be kept under 25C and it was often well over that and the pouch seemed to keep it cool. My worry now though is my next trip when I will need to take a Byetta pen in use and another unused one for later in the holiday. As the unused pen has to be kept in a fridge I'm wondering if the pouch will keep it cool enough while travelling for about 14 hours,

 

[suzi]

Hi Jane
,when travelling through Europe we kept my sons "in use" insulin pen in a frio pouch, we travelled for about 4 days and it kept it cool. We now live in Malta and as its almost as warm inside as it is outside we have continued to keep his "in use" insulin pen in the pouch, especially when out and about, the inside of the car often registers 30 degress and as yet we haven't had any problems with the frio pouch or insulin. I just replenish it in fresh cool water every 3-4 days. Hope this is of some help,
Suzi x

 

[jane22]

Thanks Suzi, yes I find the Frio pouch to be good for my in use Byetta pen but it isn't going to be any good for a new unused pen which has to be kept at 2 -8C. None of the pharmacists have any idea but I have found one cool bag on the net which promises to keep it at that temperature for 12 hours. My journey is around 12 -14 hours so I could do with a longer lasting one. I spotted one in USA which will do the job for 16 hours but it isn't available in UK. I'm going to see if I can get one sent here.

 

[HLW]

If you are going away for less than a month you don't need the spare one in a fridge, it can be room temp like the one you are using. It might be that it can be out of the fridge for 14 hours and then go back in the fridge where it will be ok for a long time, have you rung the manufacturer they should be able to tell you.

 

[jane22]

I shall be away for just over a month so will be taking the one in use plus an unused one. All the information I've had from the pharmacist and the nurse indicates that the unused one must be kept at 2-8C until it is used for the first time. Today I'm going to see if I can order one of these 16 hour jobbies from USA.

 

[HLW]

Before you go to all that trouble and expense, ask the manufacturer. They'll have a helpline, NovoNordisk do, I assume the others do too.

The unused insulin isn't always kept at fridge temps, do you transport it from the chemist to your home in a fridge? I would think it's more that 1 month is the total amount it can spend out of the fridge, so you cant take it out for a week, put in back in the fridge, then take it out and expect it to work for a month. But I don't know, so ask the manufacturer. The nurse and chemist have to say it needs to be in the fridge 100% of the time or silly people wouldn't bother putting it in the fridge at all.

 

[phoenix]

re Byetta
Have you seen this article?
http://www.diabetesmonitor.com/m77.htm
I used the thermos + ice method for travelling with used and unused insulin pens before I got a frio. This worked fine for journeys to and from the UK (sometimes up to 24 hours, you can always top up the ice at bars etc.)

On a backpacking trip I wanted a lighter method and used a small insulated bag (of the sort that my pharmacist uses for me to bring insulin home with on hot days, I suppose it is hotter here than in the UK!)
Inside I had a bag of ice in a plastic bag, I then wrapped the pens in another plastic bag wrapped in some tissue to protect it both from water and the direct cold. I then had to find top up ice everywhere we stopped. People were usually only to willing to help.
It wasn't perfect and as it was hot the ice sometimes melted before I could top it up, it worked for insulin, but possibly didn't keep it at as low a temp as Byetta should be kept at.