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Reread the allowable storage temperatures for your medication. Refrigerators are COLDER than 59 degrees.
Find out the coldest it can be.
Get a refrigerator temperature gauge.
Then try an ice chest with ice in it overnight and see what the temperature gauge reads. Or get one of those plug in refrigerators for a car, plug it in and drive around, then see what the temperature is.
In a car the floor can be hot if the sun is shining. The heat reflects up from the pavement. And the hot air from the engine flows under the floor.
On a seat it can be hot if the sun is shining on it. And just leaving the car for 5 minutes, the car can heat up to very high temperatures.
I would think a small ice chest with ice and a towel to keep the injection away from direct contact with the ice might be best. And place that on a seat in the shade. But that will be colder than 59 degrees F.
As well, you can use a "blue ice" pack or two to supplement the cooler for when you aren't driving the car. With a aux charger unit, you can bring the cooler into a place where you have electrical power and keep it running and cool.
A decent cooler with a ice pack or 2 will stay cool for days. Ice and putting your meds in a plastic container will keep it dry, you can get ice at a lot of places.
I'm really surprised this needs to be discussed but we are.
the instructions say the pens should be stored in a fridge between 36-46 degrees or out of fridge between 59 and 86 degrees
it says when carrying the pen away from home it should be stored between 59 and 86 degrees and if it has been exposed to temps over 86 it should be dumped
trouble is i don't know that "exposure" means. if in the car in a temp between 59 and 86, and then taken out in 98 degree weather, does it immediately go bad?
i guess i can call Victoza for this kind of question
the instructions say the pens should be stored in a fridge between 36-46 degrees or out of fridge between 59 and 86 degrees
it says when carrying the pen away from home it should be stored between 59 and 86 degrees and if it has been exposed to temps over 86 it should be dumped
trouble is i don't know that "exposure" means. if in the car in a temp between 59 and 86, and then taken out in 98 degree weather, does it immediately go bad?
i guess i can call Victoza for this kind of question
thanks for the support, guys
First of all, no, that is not what "exposure" means. If you hold it in your hand, you are "exposing" it to 98.6. The product doesn't go bad until it actually reaches a product temperature itself over 86. And even then, at the critical threshold, degradation is probably gradual (I don't know the nature of the chemistry), rather than instant and precipitous, and would require some degree of sustained overheating.
How do you suppose the manufacturer arrived at those numbers 59 and 86? They are in Switzerland, and they decided that the ideal temperatures, in Celsius, were in the mid teens at a minimum, and somewhere above 30° at a maximum, which they pretty obviously rounded off to 15 and 30. That got converted to exactly 59° and 86° Fahrenheit. But the upper range could be anywhere up to about 32°C, which is about 90°F, and they rounded it down (rather than up) just for a measure of extra safety and said 30, which is 86. So even up to 90°F, you're perfectly fine. For all you know, the lab considered 34°C to be safe (= 93.2°F), but not 35°, so they rounded it to 30°C. All you know from 30, is that 35°C (95°F) is not safe (or else they'd have said 35), and the cutoff point is somewhere in between.
Be careful of "spurious precision". It always amuses me to hear news reports of a plane crash "620 miles north of Ulan Bator". The Reuters dispatch quoted somebody who said it was "about 1000 kilometers", rounded off to the nearest couple of hundred, and it got converted to miles and reported as if it were exact to the nearest ten. In short, if a measurement is rounded off on one unit, converting that number to another unit does not make it any more exact. Celsius rounded off to the nearest 5° means the Fahrenheit is rounded off to the nearest 9°.
First of all, no, that is not what "exposure" means. If you hold it in your hand, you are "exposing" it to 98.6. The product doesn't go bad until it actually reaches a product temperature itself over 86. And even then, at the critical threshold, degradation is probably gradual (I don't know the nature of the chemistry), rather than instant and precipitous, and would require some degree of sustained overheating.
How do you suppose the manufacturer arrived at those numbers 59 and 86? They are in Switzerland, and they decided that the ideal temperatures, in Celsius, were in the mid teens at a minimum, and somewhere above 30° at a maximum, which they pretty obviously rounded off to 15 and 30. That got converted to exactly 59° and 86° Fahrenheit. But the upper range could be anywhere up to about 32°C, which is about 90°F, and they rounded it down (rather than up) just for a measure of extra safety and said 30, which is 86. So even up to 90°F, you're perfectly fine. For all you know, the lab considered 34°C to be safe (= 93.2°F), but not 35°, so they rounded it to 30°C. All you know from 30, is that 35°C (95°F) is not safe (or else they'd have said 35), and the cutoff point is somewhere in between.
Be careful of "spurious precision". It always amuses me to hear news reports of a plane crash "620 miles north of Ulan Bator". The Reuters dispatch quoted somebody who said it was "about 1000 kilometers", rounded off to the nearest couple of hundred, and it got converted to miles and reported as if it were exact to the nearest ten. In short, if a measurement is rounded off on one unit, converting that number to another unit does not make it any more exact. Celsius rounded off to the nearest 5° means the Fahrenheit is rounded off to the nearest 9°.
Not to digress too much (ok, I will)
Well, 1000 kilometers is 621.371 miles. (Ask any 8th grader). So the error between that, and 620 miles is 0.22 percent. Should they be using a laser interferometer or light time-of-flight to measure the distance?
I need to go take a Xanax. Cluelessness makes my blood pressure soar. JMHO.
What I thought was strange was that my Volvo came with one of these coolers, built into the center armrest. I guess that was for people who wanted to drink cold beer and drive.
Your guess may not be far from reality, based on European behaviors and government policies that I have observed!
Back in the early '90s, I was on an Eastern-Central European vacation, and I took an inter-city coach (bus) from Prague (Czech Republic) to Germany. Interestingly, the Czech highway was actually a WW II German Autobahn, built when the Nazis ruled that area. While it might have been a marvel in the '30s & '40s, it was badly outdated in comparison to our modern Interstate Highway System in the US.
But--my point is that we pulled into a rest stop on this controlled access highway for a scheduled refreshment and toilet break. To my surprise, beer was sold at the rest stop, in what was essentially a bar/beer garden with a few small food items for sale. From what I observed, not much food--and a LOT of the terrific Czech beer was being consumed at this place. Since I was a bus passenger, I took advantage of this unexpectedly nice amenity, but--unfortunately--most of the bar patrons around me stumbled back to their own cars, and then pulled out onto the highway!
No, there was no local access to this little beer garden, so apparently there is an official Czech government policy that allows the sale of beer to drivers on their highway system. I have no idea about the accident rate on these roads, but from a US point of view, this concept is...wacky.
Your guess may not be far from reality, based on European behaviors and government policies that I have observed!
Back in the early '90s, I was on an Eastern-Central European vacation, and I took an inter-city coach (bus) from Prague (Czech Republic) to Germany. Interestingly, the Czech highway was actually a WW II German Autobahn, built when the Nazis ruled that area. While it might have been a marvel in the '30s & '40s, it was badly outdated in comparison to our modern Interstate Highway System in the US.
But--my point is that we pulled into a rest stop on this controlled access highway for a scheduled refreshment and toilet break. To my surprise, beer was sold at the rest stop, in what was essentially a bar/beer garden with a few small food items for sale. From what I observed, not much food--and a LOT of the terrific Czech beer was being consumed at this place. Since I was a bus passenger, I took advantage of this unexpectedly nice amenity, but--unfortunately--most of the bar patrons around me stumbled back to their own cars, and then pulled out onto the highway!
No, there was no local access to this little beer garden, so apparently there is an official Czech government policy that allows the sale of beer to drivers on their highway system. I have no idea about the accident rate on these roads, but from a US point of view, this concept is...wacky.
Sounds similar to the states I used to live in: Kentucky had drive-through package stores (though it was interesting that in Lynchburg TN, where Jack Daniels is made, is a dry town), and NH had huge state-run liquor stores on the highways.
(NH was interesting, as if they thought you were intoxicated, they could have your blood drawn without your consent. Saw it in the ED all the time).
Superspark, you left out an important word, and therefore missed my point completely:
"Well, EXACTLY 1000.000 kilometers is 621.371 miles. (Ask any 8th grader). So the error between that, and 620 miles is 0.22 percent."
But the original source never implied that the 1,000.000 km was exact, however 620 (instead of 600) implies an exactness. Would you have taken notice if the news reporter had said the plane crashed 621.371 miles north of Ulan Bator?
And it's not that much of a digression, because it is extremely relevant to the accuracy to which the medication needs to be kept under EXACTLY 86 degrees fahrenheit.
Superspark, you left out an important word, and therefore missed my point completely:
"Well, EXACTLY 1000.000 kilometers is 621.371 miles. (Ask any 8th grader). So the error between that, and 620 miles is 0.22 percent."
But the original source never implied that the 1,000.000 km was exact, however 620 (instead of 600) implies an exactness. Would you have taken notice if the news reporter had said the plane crashed 621.371 miles north of Ulan Bator?
And it's not that much of a digression, because it is extremely relevant to the accuracy to which the medication needs to be kept under EXACTLY 86 degrees fahrenheit.
Having been in the medical community for almost two decades, 'exactly' is an unrealistic expectation for temperature control, and tends not to be necessary. In the engineering community, we could keep items at a temperature within a thousandth of a degree, but the equipment wouldn't fit in any car.
Quote:"Be careful of "spurious precision". It always amuses me to hear news reports of a plane crash "620 miles north of Ulan Bator". The Reuters dispatch quoted somebody who said it was "about 1000 kilometers", rounded off to the nearest couple of hundred, and it got converted to miles and reported as if it were exact to the nearest ten."
I am only basing my statements on your exact quote. Didn't hear the story, really don't care. But it seems about as relevant as when someone gets pulled over for speeding in their car, and the speed limit is is 65, and they tell the officer "I was only going 65.1437 mph"
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