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Storage of Test Strips

Rachox

Oracle
Retired Moderator
Messages
17,584
Location
Oxford
Type of diabetes
I reversed my Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
With soaring temperatures in the U.K. at the moment I took a look at the storage instructions on my test strips. It says to keep them between 1 - 30c (Caresens Pro Strips). My lounge thermostat currently says indoor temp is 29c and outdoors it’s 33c while my fridge one says 4c, so with temperatures set to rise to 36c in my locality tomorrow I have put my strips in the fridge. This hasn’t occurred to me on the two other summers I have experienced as a diabetic, but I think maybe it hasn’t been so hot?
Just thought I’d post this incase it applies to other people too
 
Antje77 said:
Checked the freestyle libre boxes this afternoon and they say 4-25. I don't have enough room in the fridge...
Click to expand...

Best move my remaining sensor to the fridge then. It’s 30 degrees in my flat, though hopefully cooler inside the cupboard the sensor is in.
 
@Rachox I keep my unused stash of strips in a cupboard in my office, where the ambient summer temp is in the high 20's to low 30's° celcius. The tub of strips with my meter varies where they were last time I used them.

The temp in my office at present is 24° at 4:50 am which is about average for mid winter here.

I have never thought about putting them in my beer fridge though.
 
I’m just checking out manufacturer instructions as I had at the back of my mind that test strips shouldn’t be put on the fridge. The SD Codefree strip instructions definitely say this (found leaflet via google). Trying to find the same information for Tee2.
 
Abbot Freestyle Lite strips which I use are to be stored at between 4° and 30° celcius as per the box / tub / leaflet instructions, which is on the 2 x 50 tub box in use. It's sitting behind a HP notebook screen as well.
 
The Caresens Dual manual say this about strips:
•
Store test strips in a cool and dry place at a temperature
between 1–30˚C (34–86°F).
•
Keep test strips away from direct sunlight or heat and do not
freeze.

Regarding the meter the operating range is 5 - 45c.
 

Says something similar on Tee2 so must be a Codefree thing.
 
Goonergal said:
Says something similar on Tee2 so must be a Codefree thing.
Click to expand...
General advice on the ‘other’ diabetes website says not to put them in the fridge. The temperature here is dropping so I have taken them out of the fridge now, but I’m going to phone Spirit Healthcare in the morning and see what they say.
 

Good idea.

I’ll do the same with Abbott. Have left my sensor in the cupboard for now.
 
@Antje77 Abbott don’t recommend using the fridge - more because of the humidity in the fridge than the temperature. So inside a cupboard away from sun is the way to go.

I’m going to assume the same for Tee2 strips as the storage advice also says ‘cool, dry place’.
 
Ok I phoned Spirit Health Care and they said the fridge wasn’t the best place because they need to be kept in a dry environment, so she said they should be ok just in a cool dark corner. Not sure where is going to be cool today! She said they should be ok if they do exceed 30c though.
 
The heat is definitely affecting the Libre sensor currently fixed to my arm. It is reading above 3mmol/l higher than it should be, especially during the afternoons. it starts to behave better in the cool living room temps in the evenings. It is so inconsistent because of this that I fear I have wasted my money putting it on this week.

My AccuChek mobile says 2 to 30 degrees for storage of the test cassettes.
 
Bluetit1802 said:
The heat is definitely affecting the Libre sensor currently fixed to my arm. It is reading above 3mmol/l higher than it should be, especially during the afternoons. it starts to behave better in the cool living room temps in the evenings.
Click to expand...
Mine acts the same as always, and I double check fairly often. Could it be yours acting up is coincidence?
 
Antje77 said:
Mine acts the same as always, and I double check fairly often. Could it be yours acting up is coincidence?
Click to expand...

I double check it fairly frequently and it is way above my Accu Check in this heat and high humidity. As we are on holiday we are out and about all day, even in the shade it is high heat and humidity. But when back at the cottage indoors where it is cool, it behaves normally. It isn't my blood sugars going haywire according to the Accu Chek. It has to be the sensor itself, or the reader, which is also being subjected to heat in my bag. Today, when we got back to the car at 5pm the temperature sensor on the outside of the car (parked well in the shade under trees) said 41 degrees.
 
The coolest ( and fairly stable temperature wise) place in our house, apart from the garage, is the downstairs cloakroom, and I've always kept my non current pots of strips, Libre sensors when I have any, and eye drops in a cabinet in there - regardless of the weather. I often wish that newer houses still had old fashioned pantries to keep stuff cool.

I'd be a bit concerned about keeping stripsor sensors in the fridge (even if there was room!) as I'd be worried about possible condensation .

Robbity
 
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