pindi

Hi,
I am struggling to find the right type of carry case / unit to carry injectible medication that needs to be stores at 2-8 degree celcius (35.6-46.4 farenheit). We'll be going abroad for a vacation and while we are trying our best to fin places with refrigerators available, we need something for long plane rides plus ride till we get to the hotels.
Any suggestions? Amazon has a few recommendations but reviews are iffy (most units hold the temps for only 6 hrs or so)
Thanks!

PS My Zojirushi vacuum sealed cup holds liquid hot for over 10 hrs. Never tried it in cold mode but am afraid to take the risk with medication - has anyone used these to store meds at cool temps?

Loren Pechtel

Well, I've never used it to store medicine but my Thermoflask will still have ice after 24 hours.

If you can't go into freezing temperatures, though, that's a much harder problem.

pindi

Yeah - it has to be between 2-8 Celsius.

bitterproffit

I travel with several Lantus insulin pens. I know that once they are taken out of refrigeration, they are only good for about 3-4 weeks. But I usually don't travel that long. So, I have a Frio pack that I use for my pens. It doesn't keep them at refrigerated temps, but it does keep them from getting too hot. So far, it has been effective in keeping the Lantus insulin from going bad. You soak it in water and it keeps products cool via evaporative process.

A warning about hotel room refrigerators. I ruined an entire box of Lantus pens (over $350 worth) one time because the hotel fridge iced up and they were ruined. So, be careful with hotel refrigerators.

It is difficult with air travel, especially to warm climates, to keep the Lantus from spoiling. But, my Frio pack has been pretty successful for me. I don't have any issues at security either. Most of the time, they don't even open it. If they ask, I tell them its insulin, and they usually just set it back down. I have had some apologize for asking.

Again, it will not keep them refrigerated cold. It will keep them within the temperature range of 'room temp'. For my Lantus injections, that is sufficient as long as I use them within 30 days.

pindi

Thank you for the detailed post. I will not be carrying insulin. It is a different medication that needs to be at 2-8 celcius. Will Frio pack help with that?

bitterproffit

No, sorry. It will not keep it at 2-8 C.

jhbsoft

I also have a medication that needs to be stored at 2-8 degrees celsius. The medication gets shipped to my house with 2 day delivery and it's shipped in a styrofoam cooler with ice packs. The ice packs are Nordic Ice Gel Packs. Nothing notable about them other than that they are sealed and won't leak as they melt. The medication itself comes in a small box that suspends the syringe and the box is in a plastic bag. The device doesn't make contact with the ice packs at all. The styrofoam cooler is fairly dense styrofoam.

The pharmacy ships the medication with 2 day delivery and the packaging is designed to be able to keep the medication cold for at least another day. When I've received it, the ice packs have barely melted.

I would think that you might be able to get this type of setup to work for you. Maybe keep an extra set of ice packs with you that you can keep in the freezer, keeping your medication in the cooler with one set of ice packs. Then you wouldn't have to worry about the hotel fridge being too cold.

Good luck!

kshofius1

I travel frequently with injectable meds. I have used gel packs (come with the medication, I put them in a freezer bag on the off chance they leak they won't get on my meds), They work well if you can get the hotel to freeze them for you for the next leg of your journey.

I have also bought a lunch bag that goes in the freezer, but I find it is only effective for about 8 hours.

Final solution I have used is lunch sized personal cooler with the gel packs for outbound journey, and for return I buy or bring a instant first aid ice pack and ziploc bags that I fill with ice at hotel. If I manage to time the amount of meds that I don't have fly home with them, I leave the cooler behind. It is a less than $10 purchase, much cheaper than replacing thousands of dollars in medications. The cooler is considered a medical item (nothing besides meds can be in it) so it doesn't count as a carry on.

KRSW

You might want to take a look at the Arctic Zone lunchboxes which come with "ice walls" -- freezable ice packs which fit into the top & bottom of the lunchbox. As long as it's kept in conditioned environments, I've still had ice after ~16-20 hrs. Of course, additional thermal mass (more freezer blocks) would extend this. I saw them available at Costco yesterday.

I also have a knock-off Yeti cup (Ozark Trail, from Wal-Mart) which holds ice water for 24+ hours in conditioned environments.

Another thought: Possibly making arrangements to get a script filled abroad. Prices might be substantially less abroad as well.

pindi

Thanks all. I ended up using a Zojirushi thermos that I use for my coffee daily... It keeps my coffee piping hot for over 10 hrs.

https://smile.amazon.com/Zojirushi-S...70_&dpSrc=srch

I filled it with ice and stuck the injectible pen in a couple of ziploc bags. That ice did not melt for over 48 hrs!!!! Replacing ice was very easy everywhere. I think we have found our permanent solution. Thanks again.

Loren Pechtel

I would worry that it would freeze that way.