Need some advice and opinions on travelling with diabetes - new product

[Valuablepanda]

Hello everyone, I would love to get some advice and personal opinions.

My close friend recently decided to organise her first international holiday (Australia to South America).
She usually uses Frio packs to store vials on short trips however she has been a bit worried about storing the unopened vial(s) because of the hotter climate( doesn't stay between 2-8c). When we looked at alternatives like Medicool-Active (which can be stored at 2-8c, we found that it needs to be frozen, which might not be suitable since airlines don't allow medications to be stored in their fridges/freezers coupled with the possiblities of delays.We finally checked the Internet (Amazon and eBay) for portable insulin fridges, but there were a lot of reviews stating issues with excessive noise, temperature, battery life, and even being dead on arrival.

Having seen and felt my friend's frustration and uncertainty on what should be a joyous event, I'm very interested in designing a new portable insulin fridge.

I would love to hear if the current storage products are infact acceptable for your travels, do you think there are improvements / issues?

Many thanks!

Phil

 

[tim2000s]

For long term travel, it's better to look into how you restock than try and carry everything with you over that time.

For travel of less than a month in hotter climes, I've always found that thermos flasks do a great job and can be filled with chilled water at every opportunity.

The issue with trying to carry large stocks of insulin in something powered is that it requires power of some sort and that may be difficult to come by. You could also look at creating a fridge of some sort using adiabatic cooling, but I think you'd find that too bulky for long term travel.

 

[adrian12]

I found that frio pouches worked really well for carrying my insulin for a month in florida. I just put my spare insulin in the fridge in the hotel room once I arrived to make sure I definitely had one pen that wouldn't get overheated. Any longer than a month and I agree it's easier to restock abroad. You can contact the insulin supplier to find out if they stock in that country and if not if there is another brand you can use instead.

 

[charlie_bloodsugarbeat]

Hello!

I have been travelling for the past two and a half years and I write a blog all about it now because I've received so many questions in relation to these kinds of predicaments! I simply manage with frio packs. Here's how: frio packs can be "reactivated" at any time by simply submerging them in cold water. I travelled around India for 5 months in one go while doing this and India is one of the hottest places I have been to in my life. Sure enough, the tap water doesn't come out of the tap very cold, but an easy remedy is to go to the nearest store and buy a bottle of refrigerated water, put it in the sink and submerge the frio packs in it. Of course, it is also a good idea that whenever you have access to a fridge, to store your medication in there. Speak to the hostel/hotel owner, ask if they have a fridge and ask if it would be OK/safe to store your insulin in there. They often even have a personal fridge they will let you use. I have never had any problems with this - JUST REMEMBER TO TAKE GET IT BEFORE YOU LEAVE! - put a post it note on the door, an alarm on your phone...whatever you need to do! If you have any more questions please don't hesitate to ask and you can find plenty more travel advice on the blog.

Good luck!

Charlie