How to store insulin | How to store insulin pens | How to store open bottles and cartridges | How to identify insulin that has lost effectiveness | Travel tips
How to store insulin
Insulin is a protein hormone that is involved in the absorption of glucose by cells and its processing into energy. But for the medicine to remain effective, it is important to store it correctly. At temperatures above + 25 ° C, the service life is reduced from several years to four weeks. At temperature differences above + 30 ° C, during freezing, the medication becomes unusable. Therefore, the question arises – how to properly store insulin so that it does not lose its effectiveness?
Manufacturers advise to monitor the time that has passed since the first opening the bottle, and always record this date. For different brands, the shelf life may vary slightly, as well as storage conditions. Therefore, it is important to always study the instructions so that then the administered dose does not turn out to be useless. After the purchase, you should check the production date, suitability.
How to store insulin pens
The optimum temperature for insulin is in the range from 4 to 8 ° C. It can be safely kept in the refrigerator and stored until the expiration date, reaching 2.5-3 years. After opening the drug is recommended to be used in the next few weeks.
Important! Make sure the bottles are away from the freezer. When cooled to + 2 ° C and below, the medicine may deteriorate.
How to store open bottles and cartridges
It is more convenient to keep insulin pens, opened vials at room temperature, at which the hormone can be stored for up to one month.
If you are using a new cartridge / bottle that was in the refrigerator, you first need to warm it to room temperature – just remove it and leave it for 2-3 hours. If chilled insulin is administered, the injection will be painful.
Important! Protect insulin from direct sunlight – even if the air temperature is not higher than 25 ° C, direct infrared and ultraviolet rays can overheat the medicine, making it unusable. It is not necessary to keep the bottles in complete darkness, diffused light does not affect the effectiveness of the hormone.
How to identify insulin that has lost its effectiveness
Most often, unsuitable insulin is detected by the fact that after its administration there is no effect. But expired or damaged medicine is unsafe to use. The problem is not only that sugar will remain high, but the body will not receive the necessary energy. With the destruction of the protein structure, the formation of toxins that poison the body.
It is possible to determine that insulin has deteriorated in appearance:
- color has changed;
- turbidity, liquid stratification;
- the solution became viscous;
- lumps formed.
Even if there are no visual signs of the medicine being spoiled, do not use it after the expiration date. Most likely, destructive processes are already running. At best, the sugar will remain elevated, and you just make a useless shot. At worst, an allergic reaction is possible: rash, redness, soreness.
Travel tips
A few tips that will help you not to be left without a vital medicine while traveling.
If you go on a long journey, it doesn’t matter, to another country, camping, or just to another city, you should take care of the safety and supply of insulin in advance. We offer some tips that we hope will help you on your trip:
- calculate the time spent in advance (along with the flight, travel) and prepare a double supply of insulin, put it in different bags in case you lose some of your luggage;
- if you plan a flight – put insulin in your hand luggage, in the luggage compartment it can freeze and deteriorate;
- do not leave insulin in the cabin of a closed car parked in the summer, on the beach in the heat;
- to protect insulin from heat, use special thermal bags or thermal covers with gel capsules (FRIO);
- upon arrival at the hotel immediately transfer the supply of insulin to the refrigerator or minibar.
For long trips, it is most convenient to use the FRIO thermal covers. Special capsules, which turn into gel upon contact with water, allow you to maintain the desired temperature for almost unlimited time, if the inner case for cartridges and insulin vials is immersed in water for 3-5 minutes every 45 hours.