Diabetes meter strips and a hot RV

Bumpyroad wrote:

1775 wrote:

Bumpyroad wrote:
my strips say to store between 41 and 86 degrees F. your refrigerator should be somewhere in that range? and if they can be stored indefinitely at 86 degrees, a short time up higher shouldn't matter much. you can do a test, store a couple in the fridge and others in the RV in the heat. test using both and see if there is a noticeable difference.
bumpy

My basel insulin pen extras that we carry have to be kept between 34 and 38 degrees - never at 40 or above so the fridge is set to stay about 36 and we monitor the temp inside to keep it there. So the fridge is out. The insulin pen that is started is kept in a Frio wallet but the strip bottle(s) will not fit in there - it is just large enough for the diameter of the pen. A temp of 110 dF is pretty hot for six or more hours inside the RV and this is what I am trying to protect the strips from. As you know these strips are ridiculously expensive and the medical insurance is not going to replace bottles gone bad from the heat - I can't afford to chance it. We talked to the meter company and they said to never put the strips in the refrigerator because it is too damp inside - they must be kept in a dry location. (Lots of rules with no suggestions from these companies as to how to do what they tell you must be done.)

I will look into an insulated bag, though I have the same concern about an ice block or cold water bottle in keeping them dry. The Frio wallet gets pretty damp inside also but that is not a concern for the insulin pens.

A few hours stored at 36 degrees I doubt will have any effect on them labeled to store between 41 and? don't know the specific degradation profile of the strips but those ranges never were that precise in my past dealings with them. and you mention 110 degrees, what temp. are you starting at and how long will it take to get to 110? it is not like you were popping them into an oven and immediately heating them up.



bumpy

There are a few places that we go in July and August where the RV will still be cool from the night's A/C when we start out in the morning, but then we get to where we are going and park for the day, the temp will rise up in a couple of hours and stay there until we get back hours later and start cooling down the cabin. After these trips we get questionable readings from the strips that we had with us - which has led me to this question of how to create cool, dry storage in a place where that just does not occur on its own.