Travelling in hot countries with insulin.

I have frio wallets and if there's access to a fridge I use it.

I need a lot less insulin when it's hot so keep your hypo treats close by!

Take double the amount of insulin you’ll need. Keep it in your cabin baggage - not in your suitcase where it might freeze. Keep glucose tablets with you to treat unexpected hypos. Test for your BG frequently. Stay hydrated. Try to enjoy!

I too suggest Frio. I bought mine about 15 years ago and they are still really useful for travel to hot countries including camping in Morocco and India where it was hot but no fridges in sight.

Hi, quick thoughts for travel and heat in general. Insulin can be out the fridge for 30 days but degrades quicker in heat. Travelling with a frio wallet is useful and put the pens it in a fridge upon arrival. I carry double my insulin needed and split it up half in cabin baggage and a few pens on me. I also take plenty of backup sensors plus a meter, strips, lancets etc. Sensors do not stick if you're even vaguely sweaty so find a place with ac for a good while before. I brought a £6 needle cutter from Amazon and have a metal ID bracelet.

On dosing, and this will always be unique, personally I've found for active, hot country holidays, I have better control than in the UK and take very little insulin. On a recent holiday I took about half the usual dose, however on a very active holiday I had nearly 100% TiR and had stopped taking my basal (background) and one third the bolus only at dinner. Stock up on snack bars and simple carbs upon arrival. It's a holiday after all! Drinking pushes down sugars the next day also.

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I have a Frio wallet but never thought it worked very well, though this is from more than 20 years ago so perhaps they have improved, equally if there is no refrigeration and it's a reasonably dry climate they will be more effective than nothing.

Where and how are you travelling? When in Europe, Australia, the USA, etc., I use a mini cool bag and mini ice packs generally separated from the insulin by a bit of cardboard (though really the box probably enough separation). I'd always put everything in my hotel fridge at night if possible (and refreeze the ice packs or at least cool them down if no mini-freezer), otherwise I would top up with ice from the communal dispensers/bar/restaurants (and keep a supply of plastic bags to put the ice in, in the cool bag). As @Lacuna says it can last 30-odd days without refrigeration, though I'd try to keep it as cool as possible.

I would also bin the whole lot when I get back home if I have any concerns about how warm it got en-route (trips to Australia especially) and make sure I have a new set of vials ready and waiting for me.

lhm8 said:

Thanks for the advice. I’m travelling around Spain for two weeks , mostly by train , so just worried about Insulin on the journey’s mostly. I’ve ordered a small Frio wallet that holds two pens , but was looking to get a large bag or box that can keep a few boxes of insulin if you know of any good ones, thanks.

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Do you have single use pens or reusable ones with cartridges?
I found my second Frio wallet (I bought two) could hold more than a box of insulin cartridges when I went on two week walking/camping holidays.
If you have access to a fridge between train journeys, you could get yourself a cool bag or vacuum flask.

I have found a wide temperature range in fridges too. One guest house fridge quickly froze the glass of water I’d put in the back of it. Thankfully my insulin hadn’t been put in there and was still safely in the Frio pouch. Since then I’ve learned to be careful with fridges too and don’t assume it’s within range if there’s no read out to indicate temperature.

lhm8 said:

Thanks for the advice. I’m travelling around Spain for two weeks , mostly by train , so just worried about Insulin on the journey’s mostly. I’ve ordered a small Frio wallet that holds two pens , but was looking to get a large bag or box that can keep a few boxes of insulin if you know of any good ones, thanks.

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Frio has a range of sizes on their website.

MommaE said:

I have found a wide temperature range in fridges too. One guest house fridge quickly froze the glass of water I’d put in the back of it. Thankfully my insulin hadn’t been put in there and was still safely in the Frio pouch. Since then I’ve learned to be careful with fridges too and don’t assume it’s within range if there’s no read out to indicate temperature.

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+1 on this, if in doubt I'd tend to put my whole coolbag in the fridge

lhm8 said:

Thanks for the advice. I’m travelling around Spain for two weeks , mostly by train , so just worried about Insulin on the journey’s mostly. I’ve ordered a small Frio wallet that holds two pens , but was looking to get a large bag or box that can keep a few boxes of insulin if you know of any good ones, thanks.

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I'm afraid I don't, the thing I use is a generic but rather robust/thick mini cool bag I bought from Tescos ~20 years ago. it comes flat and expands as you put more stuff in it (ice block or cubes in addition to the insulin in my case). It was probably designed to fit an adult's packed lunch into it.

There are doubtless similar things around nowadays, school lunchboxes seem to be rather variable in thickness judging by the ones my children have (they are about the smallest things I could find from a quick Google, though I did see some smaller diabetic/insulin specific cool bags, no idea how well they would work). Stuffing one inside another might be an option to increase the insulation.

Having just looked on Amazon, I'd be half tempted to try a wide necked vacuum flask (though you will doubtless then get stopped if you go through a metal detector, but that's life) such as e.g. B004DGJLWU on Amazon (not a recommendation, I've no idea what the internal size is, but it's a decent brand at least). There also seem to be small insulated bags (e.g. B07MFXMYRX again not a recommendation) that might work inside something larger like an insulated lunch box.

Sorry that's not very useful, please let us know what you choose and how you get on.

lhm8 said:

I have single use pens, was thinking of getting a box or bag for them, I couldn’t see a large frio bag on the website, but will check again.

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If you have time to change, I highly recommend reusable pens. They take up less space in luggage when travelling (and in the fridge when not), are much more robust, can deliver half units, some have "reminders" that record dosage taken and produce far less waste.

lhm8 said:

Thanks for the advice. I’m travelling around Spain for two weeks , mostly by train , so just worried about Insulin on the journey’s mostly. I’ve ordered a small Frio wallet that holds two pens , but was looking to get a large bag or box that can keep a few boxes of insulin if you know of any good ones, thanks.

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I use a Hydro Flask with a cool pack for my insulin for travel and extreme weather. I don't freeze the Hydro Flask or cool pack, just cool them in the fridge.

The 591ml/20oz Hydro Flask fits a few insulin pens with a cool pack, and the 354ml/12oz easily fits several vials or cartridges, also with a cool pack. Hydro Flask makes shorter food jars that would probably fit vials and cartridges, but besides the 236ml/8oz food jar, they aren't smaller, just shorter and wider.

I usually travel with two Hydro Flasks for two reason:
- I can split the insulin between my bag and my partner's bag (carry on if we're flying, obviously)
- Once we're at our destination, I put all the insulin in one Hydro Flask and put the other (empty except a cool pack) in the fridge. Once a day or so depending on the weather, I swap the insulin so it's always in a cooled Hydro Flask and it's never in the fridge. I don't have to worry about a fridge freezing my insulin and my insulin is always in a Hydro Flask, so protected from extreme temps. It might be a bit much for some people, but it only takes a minute a day and it's a nice little ritual for me.

A lot of people are happy with Frios, but I prefer the Hydro Flask, especially since I can bury it in my bag when travelling (Frios need air circulation to work).