keeping medicines at right temperature on the road

[Morgana]

Does anyone have experience with this?

I have a prescription medication that needs to stay within a certain temperature range (basically, room temperature). I'll be traveling cross-country soon and had hoped to leave the car for a few walking/kayaking excursions. (No air conditioned "congregate settings" because Covid.) But you know how hot a car can get -- and even shlepping the drug with me into the great [Gulf Coast] outdoors might not be cool enough.

Just now realized this was going to be an issue and started to brainstorm on it. I wonder if a cooler, or a good quality thermos jar, might do the trick. I'll ask a pharmacist too, but certain aspects of this question you guys are bigger experts on. Has anyone had to deal with this and come up with a good solution?

Thanks!

 

[maki2]

Likely it will be a problem in a closed up vehicle as they heat up quickly with sun on them Just remember you can set a refrigerator to come on witin a temperature range that includes in the mid 70s on some of the models. It wont use a lot of power for that versus keeping a fridge in the food safe temperature range. If your health depends on that medication then it is worth the investment in the equipment. If it is a medication you are taking for a short time then you could look at alternative cooling methods suchas icing down a thermos bottle then removing the ice and putting the medication in it for a few hours. Just keep repeating that as needed. But that would be a very annoying thing to do for a long term medication. Most humans do not like having to constantly monitor temperatures which is why they want thermostats and electrical powered equipment to do that for them. But for a few weeks it is certainly tolerable for many of us to do that.

You know yourself and how good you will be at handling this situation.

 

[MrsBackRoads]

My answer is more of a question for others to help with. After reading this post my first thought was to purchase one of those soup thermos.(Small thermos would take less room.) Would putting the medication in a thermos without cooling it down and then sticking it in a fridge or ice chest? Would that keep medication at room temperature or close to it? Or would the thermos cool the inside from the cool air of the fridge?

Just trying to solve this puzzle

 

[jacqueg]

IME - it would take some hours for a metal thermos to cool off. And I THINK it would take longer for a larger thermos to cool. Whether this would be long enough for the OP's purpose, I dunno.

 

[Morgana]

Thanks, everyone. Some kind of thermos might indeed do the trick. I might talk to a pharmacist later -- there must be other people doing this, so hopefully there's some experience to draw on.

It's not that big, so it wouldn't kill me to shlep it with me in a backpack rather than leaving it in a super-heated car. That should cut down the work the thermos needs to do. I'll be staying in hotels (I know, cop-out! but the car will be packed full), and if necessary I can blast the AC while driving, so it's really just keeping it safe during side trips of a few hours at most. 

Too bad thermos websites don't give precise specs (at least, none that I found), since there's a bit more at stake than a tuna sandwich this time. But after your input, I feel more optimistic that there will be some kind of reliable solution. Thanks again!

 

[Weight]

I use those silvery bags sold in markets, the ones that say "keeps hot, keeps cold". I put meds in smaller bag and then into larger bag with an ice pack. My fridge is set to freeze so I rotate an ice pack as needed.

 

[DLTooley]

You might inquire with the pharmacist a bit more. Fair chance refrigerator temps are ok. On the other hand some sort of thermos or cooler might be good enough. I sometimes use a good yeti style cooler without ice as a ‘root cellar’ - onions, eggs, nuts, and roots.

 

[maki2]

If you are staying at hotels you will have access to free ice from their machines. Just take along a small ice cest, put a cold beverage or two and some ice in the chest before you leave the hotel. When you get ready to hike put the meds and the beverage next to each other in your back pack.

 

[user 423]

Walmart sells kid's insulated lunch kits that include a small lidded container for a sandwich , a 10oz beverage jug and a 'blue ice'-type gel pack. The jug can be filled w/ice to keep stuff cool longer. Put pill containers in the sandwich container. I used one on a recent motorcycle trip and it kept cool for 2 days in 95 deg.weather.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Does anyone have experience with this?

I have a prescription medication that needs to stay within a certain temperature range (basically, room temperature). I'll be traveling cross-country soon and had hoped to leave the car for a few walking/kayaking excursions . . .

First, talk with your pharmacist; you aren't the first person to have this problem.  And the pharmacist should explain how diligent you need to be.

Depending on how tight the temperature range will determine how difficult it will be.
If whatever you use does not have automatic temperature control, you need to monitor temperatures.  Any passive insulation (thermos, insulated bag, etc.) will eventually get to ambient, so you will need to monitor and 'reset' the container to the temperature range you need.

 

[Morgana]

To update:
A good local pharmacist confirmed that this ^^ advice is right, at least for my particular prescription (use the same cooler or thermos you'd use to keep food cool, but avoid moisture and direct contact with a freezer pack). I think she even mentioned the kid's lunch kit.

So you guys were spot on -- including the prediction that the pharmacist would be familiar with the issue. And I appreciate knowing what some people have tried and had success with. Gracias!

 

[TravelingZombies]

Fortunately for us my wife's medication does not need refrigeration. However her vitamins of choice were gummy vitamins and they got hot and melted into one big clump. The use of a cooler with ice or ice packs sounds like the best way to go.

 

[Morgana]

I went with a wide-mouth Thermos inside the cooler with the fruits and veg. It's three months worth of prescription and I don't think they'll replace it if I fry it, so better safe than sorry.

I was tickled pink with the Thermos and couldn't figure out why until I realized it reminded me of an old-fashioned milk can. I haven't thought about those in years. Blast from the past!

PS Good heads-up on the gummi vitamins, I use those too.