Our bodies need insulin to regulate a healthy blood sugar level. For people with diabetes, their bodies can’t make enough insulin and often need to supplement with insulin injections. However, their insulin needs to be kept at a safe temperature to efficiently aid in maintaining healthy amounts of sugar in the bloodstream.
Why is it important to store insulin at the right temperature?
Keeping a safe insulin temperature range is vital for peptides because they are very sensitive to temperature. A temperature between 68 – 86 F is ideal for insulin in use, and anything below or above could cause the peptides to break down or lose shape. If insulin degrades or misshapes, it can inhibit the protein from working. Taking insulin exposed to conditions beyond the safe insulin temperature range is useless.
Once a vial or pen is opened, it can be kept in an insulin temperature storage for up to 30 days before it loses efficacy. It requires effort to keep your insulin at a safe temperature range, so here are some tips for maintaining insulin at home and on-the-go for safe use.
To store insulin in use, you can store the insulin pen,, or vial at room temperature in a special bag or storage case. Avoid exposing the insulin to direct heat or sunlight. Follow the storage instructions provided by the manufacturer and consult with your healthcare provider for any additional advice.
Keep insulin temperature safe at home
Vials and pens that have not been opened can be kept for up to one year in insulin temperature storage if set at a safe temperature range. Your refrigerator is the best place to keep your insulin at home prior to use. Set your fridge at a temperature between 35°F to 40°F and remember these settings when you spend time away at a hotel or with family and ask them to accommodate you. Also, keep the insulin towards the front of your fridge because the back gets colder and could cause vials to freeze. Even if you don’t find it frozen, there’s a chance it was at one point, which will make the insulin unusable.
Keep insulin temperature safe while traveling
While you’re attending to a busy day, there are certain places where insulin should never be left, even for a few minutes. Your car is often way hotter, up to 20 degrees sometimes, than the outside. Therefore, you should never leave insulin in your vehicle. Additionally, if you’re traveling, never pack insulin in your checked luggage because you never know what temperatures your bag traveled in. Investing in a proper insulin temperature storage kit that you can quickly bring in your bag is beneficial.
Keep insulin temperature safe in your body
Insulin that’s been injected needs to consider its surrounding temperature as well. If you’re dehydrated, you lose water, and the sugar concentration is higher than water in the bloodstream. This means insulin needs to work harder to maintain a balance, and if your body is too warm, it could mean your insulin dosage won’t be enough to work. That’s why it’s crucial for people with diabetes to stay hydrated and drink lots of water, especially on hot summer days or during intense periods of physical activity.
Tools to keep insulin at the safest temperature
Many rely on ice packs or gels to keep their insulins from warming, but these can melt and are unreliable. To keep track of your insulin temperature properly, devices like TempraMed’s VIVI Cap replace the cap of your insulin pens and works as a cover and cooler for your medication. The high-performance storage device keeps insulin below 84.2°F (29°C) even in 100-degree temperatures. The cap stops cooling if temperatures reach below 78.8°F (26°C) and takes up as much space as your pen. The VIVI Cap makes it easy to keep insulin’s temperature effortlessly.
If you need to inject insulin regularly, this insulin travel case may well be the high-performance, on-the-go storage solution you need. Visit tempramed.com to purchase your own VIVI Cap diabetic travel case .
