Keeping Insulin Safe in Emergency

My wife is Type I diabetic and therefore has an insulin pump.

We just moved to SoCal, and the potential for earthquakes disrupting things for extended periods of time.

It needs to be kept cool, or it spoils and can be dangerous for her. She travels with freezer packs regularly, but I'm looking for solutions for the long haul.

I was thinking maybe one of those coolers that plugs into a cigarette lighter and a portable power source, either solar or hand crank.

I would welcome other solutions. This one really could be life or death for my beloved.

Thanks!

I think we've had a few discussions similar to this, and I'll keep searching for some old gems, but here's a link to a good old thread about preparing medications:

http://forums.equipped.org/ubbthreads.ph...true#Post132916

I'm going to follow this discussion with keen interest, it is so important. I just did a quick Google and found this link addressing the matter of keeping insulin cool in a power outage:

http://thesurvivaldoctor.com/2012/06/19/insulin-storage/



http://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/ma...dness-diabetes/

Since insulin needs to be kept at a temperature below 86°F, be prepared with a method to keep it cool in the event of a prolonged power outage in hot weather. One option is to have an evaporative cooler such as a FRIO® insulin cooling wallet, which is activated by water, keeps insulin cool for two days, is reusable, and does not require ice packs or refrigeration. With reactivation, this will give you up to one month to get to a new source of insulin.

If you do not have an evaporative cooler, for the first day of a power outage, you can keep medications cool in the freezer (although you should unplug it because it will freeze your medications if power is restored). Or you can use an insulated bag or lunchbox with a cold pack, ice, or frozen food from the freezer. (Don’t place your insulin directly on a cold pack, ice, or frozen food.)

Maine's government has guidance: https://www1.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/population-health/dcp/documents/epdiabetes.pdf

This diabetes forum thread mentions, among other things, the utility of a good thermos. Would your wife's insulin vials fit in a thermos? I have a Nissin thermos which is incredibly effective at keeping beverages piping hot or freezing cold for over 24 hours.

http://forums.childrenwithdiabetes.com/showthread.php?78267-Insulin-and-Power-Outages


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I am a type 2 insulin dependent diabetic, and have used several methods for storing insulin, both for routine day to day, during power outages, and travel, both by car and airplane. Here is what I do:

Refrigerator: pretty much everyone's starting point.

Short local travel: Frio wallet (no association). Works reasonably well, holds a pen and a vial (I use both), but that is about it. I have been told that in an emergency, wrapping insulin vials and pens in a wet towel kept in the shade will produce the same evaporation cooling effect, thus allowing storage of more vials/pens. I also have a supply of freezer packs in the freezer (I get them "free" as my insulin is shipped to me in styrofoam containers with cooler packs.)

Backups at home: For many years I used a small generator to power the fridge, then later went with a auto standby generator.

Long auto trips: I have a small 12 volt thermoelectric cooler that doubles as a standard insulated cooler when not powered.

Airline travel: The hardest. Always take all medications and supplies in carry on. As for the insulin, I have one of those insulated lunch bags, and put my pens and vials in a plastic bag surrounded by thin bubble wrap, then one of the freezer blocks, surrounded by regular bubble wrap, and then into the insulated lunch bag. Never had a question from TSA (keep everything in the box they came in with the prescription on in). I have found that this setup will last about 20-24 hours before the freezer block has fully defrosted, but everything is still cool.

I have no experience with off the grid/disaster storage, but I think you should plan on having several options if you can. I took a quick look at the sites Dagny listed and saw one technique that look very interesting----the deep hole in the ground. A variation of that could be as simple as a cool basement.

Hope this helps.

There are refrigerators made for the RV crowd that can run on propane. Some are designed to work on AC as well.

I think they are generally '3 way' fridges, that can work on propane, 12v and mains. If i remember correctly, they do consume quite a lot of power compaired to a compressor model. But then again you have the gas option.

I had heard the opposite, but I've never owned one.

There are refrigerators designed to work with solar systems that would be preferable imo. As I recall, models came in either 12 or 24 volt DC, and were heavily insulated. DC-Powered Solar Refrigerators Freezers

Let me make this near impossible. Keep insulin usable, testing strips as well, in Arizona summer with no refrigeration at all. Oh, and no money for gadgets. That what I have to deal with for my patients. I've talked to endocrinologists and they had nothing to add. But the people that reads this are very much of the "adapt, improvise, overcome." Mindset.

would seem like the roto molded (Yeti style)high tech coolers would offer an improved insulation over traditional coolers...there are similar products at a much lower price...Engel (Australian) had a pretty high tech battery powered cooler unit that used a magnetic piston pump IIRC, and not thermo electric

An important distinction has to be made between insulin that is in use now, and that which is in storage for later use. For example, I use Lantus and Novolog.

For the in use insulin, they both will stay effective for their 28 day life if maintained below 86 degrees Fahrenheit.

For storage, unopened, they need to at 36 - 46 degrees Fahrenheit.

So, for your folks and location, their in use insulin might be cooled by evaporation cooling and fan, but that is highly dependent on the specific conditions.

For storage, to get below 46 F, I think refrigeration is the only way in your situation. Refrigeration options have been mentioned above; some are pricey. But if power is available, a small/cheap "dorm room" fridge should do the job, as long as it is a compressor type. Thermoelectric coolers are usually limited to a number of degrees below ambient temperature, and in the summer in Arizona, may not make below 46 F.