How to travel with insulin vials

Packing: Put your diabetes supplies in a carry-on bag (insulin could get too cold in your checked luggage). Think about bringing a smaller bag to have at your seat for insulin, glucose tablets, and snacks. Pack twice as much medicine as you think you’ll need.

Needles, syringes & lancets

Needles and any other sort of insulin delivery devices are permitted on airplanes. BUT, carrying a prescription, letter from your doctor, or pharmaceutical label for your supplies with you is a good idea — especially when traveling abroad as to avoid any language barriers.

Despite the general rule prohibiting passengers from bringing most liquids and gels through security, people with diabetes may take their insulin, other medications such as Smylin, Byetta, and Glucagon, and other liquids and gels, including juice and cake gel, through TSA checkpoints, even if they are in containers

Checked Bags: Yes

Please notify the TSA officer that you have diabetes and are carrying your supplies with you. Insulin pumps and supplies must be accompanied by insulin, and insulin in any form or dispenser must be clearly identified. Learn more about transporting medication on your next flight.

A: Yes, the standard recommendation from all the insulin manufacturers is that a vial of insulin you are using can be kept at room temperature for up to 28 days. Room temperature is defined as between 59 degrees and 86 degrees Fahrenheit.

Insulins

Unused (unopened) insulin vials, devices, or cartridges inadvertently left at room temperature can be returned to refrigeration but must be used within designated days of initially being stored at room temperature (see Tables 1 and 2). Products not used within the listed time periods should be discarded.

Insulin products contained in vials or cartridges supplied by the manufacturers (opened or unopened) may be left unrefrigerated at a temperature between 59°F and 86°F for up to 28 days and continue to work.

Once you open a vial, keep it stored in the fridge or at room temperature. Be aware that injecting refrigerated insulin may be painful. Keep an insulin pen refrigerated until you open it; after that, you can store it at room temperature.

Although manufacturers recommend storing your insulin in the refrigerator, injecting cold insulin can sometimes make the injection more painful. To avoid this, many providers suggest storing the bottle of insulin you are using at room temperature. Insulin kept at room temperature will last approximately one month.

The first method is visual inspection. If your insulin looks cloudy or discolored in any way, don’t use it. If it has clumps or what look like little “strings” in it, it’s probably not safe to use. The second way to know your insulin is not working properly is unexplained high blood sugars, as mentioned above.

Keep unused bottles, cartridges, and pens of insulin in the refrigerator (between 36°F and 46°F). If stored properly, these will be good until the expiration date listed on the insulin.

UNOPENED insulin stored in the refrigerator is good until the expiration date printed on the insulin box. The expiration date will usually be 1 year from the date of purchase but you have to check the box to find out.

Opened vials, whether or not refrigerated, must be used within 28 days. They must be discarded if not used within 28 days. If refrigeration is not possible, the open vial in use can be kept unrefrigerated for up to 28 days in a place away from direct heat and light, as long as the temperature is not >86°F (30°C).

Intermediate-acting insulin is cloudy and must be rolled between your hands to mix it. Do not shake the bottle. This can make the insulin clump.

DON’T: Inject insulin just anywhere.

Insulin should be injected into the fat just underneath the skin rather than into muscle, which can lead to quicker insulin action and greater risk of low blood sugar. The stomach, thighs, buttocks, and upper arms are common injection sites because of their higher fat content.

“Shaking the bottle can cause the insulin particles to stick to the vial itself, which can sometimes make it look frosted, and reduces the effectiveness of the insulin withdrawn from the vial,” Ghaderi says. Vigorous shaking can also cause clumping or create threads in the insulin.

Generally, to correct a high blood sugar, one unit of insulin is needed to drop the blood glucose by 50 mg/dl. This drop in blood sugar can range from 30-100 mg/dl or more, depending on individual insulin sensitivities, and other circumstances.