Frio wallets

[Geminigirl]

Hi all.
I am going on a long holiday later this year and bought myself some Frio wallets as i'll be travelling a lot and will need to take several insulin pens with me.
I am on a 2 night stay where there isn't the use of a fridge so thought I would take a spare pen with me and test one of the Frio wallets.
I followed the instructions but I don't feel it is particularly cool tbh. It feels less warm than the room temperature but I wouldn't say it's anywhere as cool as I expected.
So, unless I have a duff one i'm not very confident about my longer break.
Am I expecting it to be cooler than I should?
Thanks for any advice.

 

[sleepster]

Hello @Geminigirl,
Frio wallets don't keep insulin cool, they stop it getting too hot. It's not the same as putting it in the fridge.
The frio website says:
FRÍO® keeps temperature sensitive medicines within safe temperatures of 18-26°C (64.4-78.8°F) for a minimum of 45 hours, even in a constant environmental temperature of 37.8°C (100°F).

Hope that helps

p.s make sure the Frio wallet isn't in a waterproof bag or anything, it works by evaporation.

 

[Jaylee]

Hi all.
I am going on a long holiday later this year and bought myself some Frio wallets as i'll be travelling a lot and will need to take several insulin pens with me.
I am on a 2 night stay where there isn't the use of a fridge so thought I would take a spare pen with me and test one of the Frio wallets.
I followed the instructions but I don't feel it is particularly cool tbh. It feels less warm than the room temperature but I wouldn't say it's anywhere as cool as I expected.
So, unless I have a duff one i'm not very confident about my longer break.
Am I expecting it to be cooler than I should?
Thanks for any advice.

Hi,

What @sleepster said. Plus you should notice more of a comparison with the internal side of the wallet & your pen, the hotter it gets?
I usually keep mine in a webbing or mesh pocket in my backpack to help the wallet breath.

 

[Deleted member 527103]

Frio works through the condensation from the liquid in the crystals.
It's not fridge cold but should be colder than the ambient temperature ... provided you soaked the crystals (wallet) long enough to soak up the water.

I think it's very clever and used it a lot when camping in hot countries like Morocco and India,

 

[Antje77]

I am going on a long holiday later this year

How long will your holiday be?
Insulin will be fine for a month in a Frio, the Frio keeps it at room temperature.

 

[Geminigirl]

Hello @Geminigirl,
Frio wallets don't keep insulin cool, they stop it getting too hot. It's not the same as putting it in the fridge.
The frio website says:
FRÍO® keeps temperature sensitive medicines within safe temperatures of 18-26°C (64.4-78.8°F) for a minimum of 45 hours, even in a constant environmental temperature of 37.8°C (100°F).

Hope that helps

p.s make sure the Frio wallet isn't in a waterproof bag or anything, it works by evaporation.

Thankyou for that.

 

[Geminigirl]

Thank you all.
I will be away 6 weeks and it will be to keep the Insulin coolish while travelling from place to place. (A tour of Italy!) When I am in a hotel i'll have a room fridge. It's for inbetween times and travelling.

I have just felt the pen and it does feel quite a bit cooler compared to the can of diet coke I have which came out of a shop fridge 3 hours ago and much cooler than my "in use pen"

I'm fairly new to insulin so was worried about spoiling it. I will refresh the pack in cold water before bed tonight.

It is a learning curve isn't it! I didn't realise it is such a big jump from tablets only.

I know I sound soft but tomorrow is the first time i'll have eaten out and i'm already worrying about where to inject. Under the tablecloth? Lol. I don't fancy using a loo in the restaurant! My friend (non diabetic) didn't help when she said they'll think i'm a junkie either!

 

[Deleted member 527103]

I know I sound soft but tomorrow is the first time i'll have eaten out and i'm already worrying about where to inject. Under the tablecloth? Lol. I don't fancy using a loo in the restaurant! My friend (non diabetic) didn't help when she said they'll think i'm a junkie either!

Inject where you want. Chances are no one will notice and, if anyone who does and gets offended, I consider it their problem. They should have looked away.

 

[Antje77]

tomorrow is the first time i'll have eaten out and i'm already worrying about where to inject. Under the tablecloth?

Just lift a little corner of your shirt or skirt to bare an inch of skin and inject. It's perfectly fine to do so and it doesn't matter if someone sees you doing it.
For many of us it takes some time getting used to it but once you overcome that first time it will get easier and with a bit of luck you won't even be thinking about other people when you inject.

And tell your friend you're already feeling insecure about this and her not funny jokes aren't helping you at the moment.

 

[MommaE]

I’m in the midst of a holiday and now comfortably injecting “ in the wild” thanks to encouragement I received from posters on here. Have to say no one seems to have paid any attention, it’s been much more straight forward than expected. No comments, no uncomfortable looks from anyone. I use the frio wallets to keep insulin pen cooler and a needle clipper for disposal…all good advice from here. I hope you have just as positive an experience, and enjoy your holiday.