meds that need to stay cold

[BeckyScott]

Looking for suggestions for my best option.

Justin is taking a couple of supplements that need to be refrigerated, and he takes them with meals.

I've gotten alot of info already. I'll put them in a lunchbox with ice pack for the plane trip. Hopefully "swap" a fridge, or if need be we'll ice it every day. He is gf/cf and I've read how to handle that.

We will be going back to our room mid-afternoon so I only need to take enough to get him thru one meal. But we're talking like 2 capsules. I hate to haul around an entire lunchbox to keep 2 capsules cold! I really would like for us to just all have fanny packs- mine & DH's with the family stuff, and the kids with ID and Dollars and snacks. My fanny pack is already going to have his inhaler and spacer tube (which takes up most of it right there), my phone, plus keys and money.

I'm sure there is a simple way to do this that I just haven't thought of. Is there such thing as a really small insulated bag- with some sort of ice pack- that will keep cold 3-4 hours? Or some make-your-own option? The thought of hauling around an insulated lunchbox to hold 2 capsules just makes me

 

[aPiratesLife4Me]

I can't answer your question about what to take to the parks to keep them cold, although I'm sure someone here will probably have a good answer for you but for the resort, call and request a fridge for medical reasons/keep meds. cold, and they should provide you one, no charge.

 

[HappyDznyCamper]

I beleive that you can store meds in a fridge at the first aid center in each park.
The pp is right about requesting a fridge for med reasons at the resort.

 

[SueM in MN]

I beleive that you can store meds in a fridge at the first aid center in each park.
The pp is right about requesting a fridge for med reasons at the resort.

You can store medication at First Aid in each park and they will refrigerate it for him.
Another option would be to put the lunchbox into a locker. They have lockers at each park near the entrance. There is no guarantee that they will not all be rented out when you get there and no way to make sure that your ice holds the temperature for as long as you need. Plus, the lockers are near the entrance (First Aid is more centrally located in many of the parks).

If you are staying at a Moderate or Deluxe WDW resort, you will have a refrigerator. It will be the small dorm size, without really having any facilities for freezing an icepack. If you are staying at one of the Value resorts, you can request one at no charge for medical reasons. You may get a dorm size frig or it may be a very small one, about the size of a shoebox.

 

[hematite153]

I have seen very small, soft-sided, insulated lunch bags. You ought to be able to crush one of these up so that it wouldn't take up much space. I have no idea where you'd get them, but they do exist.

 

[Selket]

A Frio pack would keep them cool. We use that now for travel with my son's insulin. You can read about them here and they sell them: http://www.coolerconcept.com/

I realize for a short-term medical issue you might not want to spend that much money. But if the meds are long term it would be worth it. They are fairly small and convenient since all you need is water to activate them.

I have this one : http://www.coolerconcept.com/pages/extrasmallwallet.htm

Good luck!

 

[BeckyScott]

Sue, can I request a fridge even if the meds are in fact non-rx supplements? I'm talking probiotics and digestive enzymes, that sort of thing.

I guess I hadn't thought of doing a request for one because they're not "medically necessary" in the same way something like insulin would be. Well, to us they're necessary, but they're not life-saving-emergency meds. You know what I mean. So I was just going to try to hook up with a fridge swap here. Especially since we'd need to be able to freeze an ice pack.

I have a couple of freebie soft-sided lunchboxes, I might try to cut one up and re-sew it into something smaller. I probably should do something like that anyway- the few times we've gone on "road trips" or out to eat locally, I had the same problem.

 

[SueM in MN]

Sue, can I request a fridge even if the meds are in fact non-rx supplements? I'm talking probiotics and digestive enzymes, that sort of thing.

I guess I hadn't thought of doing a request for one because they're not "medically necessary" in the same way something like insulin would be. Well, to us they're necessary, but they're not life-saving-emergency meds. You know what I mean. So I was just going to try to hook up with a fridge swap here. Especially since we'd need to be able to freeze an ice pack.

I have a couple of freebie soft-sided lunchboxes, I might try to cut one up and re-sew it into something smaller. I probably should do something like that anyway- the few times we've gone on "road trips" or out to eat locally, I had the same problem.

yes, even though they are not life-saving, they are necessary for his health.

One thing to keep in mind with the refrigerators that you would get at the resorts or from a frig swap is that you will probably not be able to keep an ice pack frozen with it. They are the small dorm size refrigerators. Depending on the exact brand/style, it may have a freezer part that is just big enough for ice cube trays (and may not do a very good job of freezing ice).
You could try rigging up something that would hold ice. People have put the medication in a plastic bag to protect it from water and fill the ice becket in the room with ice. You can get ice easily from the ice machine in any hotel and also from counter service restaurants at the parks. I don't know how sensitive your things are to temperatures, but one problem with using ice is that sometimes things can get too cold and freeze. Also, you have to deal with the water as the ice melts.
If you do use an ice bucket with ice, I'd suggest hiding the ice bucket so that Housekeeping doesn't empty it when they clean the room.

The beauty of the Frio packs Selket mentioned is that you don't need to worry about anything besides having access to water to activate it.
Another thing that might work for going out is using an instant cold pack inside a small lunch bag - the kind of cold pack that is stored at room temperature and you shake to activate. If you only used those for when you are out, they might not be too much expense. If you are using many, you might be cheaper off buying a Frio.

 

[Selket]

So far I've NEVER gotten a fridge from Disney that would freeze an ice pack - there was never a freezer compartment to them. Folks sometimes say to turn up the fridge so cold that it would freeze it that way - but then it would freeze his insulin too of course!

Maybe some of the resorts have the little fridges with the ice cube freezer compartment but I haven't found them. I also never got the fridge I requested (and re-requested) at POP in October. We were just there one night so I was able to easily do the "ice bucket" thing though. You do have to be careful with ice and freezer packs (at least with insulin) - I put it in one of those disposable Glad plastic containers wrapped in paper towel and put that container next to the ice or cold pack.

Trying to carry ice to the park just doesn't work so well - even in ziploc bags or whatever - at least for me. It always becomes a sloppy mess! At best I'd use the ice or cold pack to transport the item to First Aid.

He pumps so I don't usually carry his insulin bottles to the parks. Yet keeping his insulin cool in his pump on his back in July is a whole 'nother issue!

 

[SueM in MN]

So far I've NEVER gotten a fridge from Disney that would freeze an ice pack - there was never a freezer compartment to them.

I was cutting and editing and I edited out the part that said they might not even have a freezer compartment. Thanks for pointing it out.

 

[Lewisc]

Double check with your doctor and/or pharmacist and see if refrigeration is necessary. Most insulins can be kept a room temperature for a month after opening. You still may need an insulated cooler at the parks. Room temperature doesn't include a hot day in the parks.

 

[BeckyScott]

Both the probiotic and the enzyme that we use say to keep refrigerated. It's because both of them contain "live" stuff that dies off as it gets warmer. They are both capsules that get opened and dumped into beverage or cold food.

Hmm, they both have those little silica pouches in the bottles, too, so it would be a good idea to kind of stockpile those to have.

It's also possible, we've done allergy testing but don't have the results back yet, that he may be on more or different stuff by summer.

I should look at those first aid ice packs- we used to call them "poppers"- I think they do make them fairly small, to take to the park. If I did those, I wouldn't need a freezer. See I knew there was some easy-ish way that I hadn't considered!

 

[arlene22]

I second the frio pack suggestion. It kept our daughter's insulin cool at Disney in July. They come in different sizes and are very convenient.

 

[kmjmom]

My DD has a daily med that needs to be refrigerated. We usually travel with an insulated lunch bag and use the ice packs that the meds are shipped with. They last quite a while. Definitely long enough for our flight down from CT. I leave the ice packs with the concierge after putting the meds in our frig and pick them up for our return flight. I had one bad experience at POFQ where they did not freeze the packs and laughed that someone should have told me that their freezer didn't work! Needless to say it made for a very stressful departure, since our limo was arriving to take us to the airport and I had no way to keep the meds cold. The manager managed to get ziplock bags full of ice to put in our cooler bag. Ever since that experience, I check and double check that the packs WILL be frozen for our trip home. No more problems!

 

[happymommy]

As far as getting a fridge at the resort - my DS has severe food allergies. We've been taking him to WDW for 8 years, (and didn't know the first time how wonderful they were about food allergies) and the first time, at the GF, I called for a fridge (back when they didn't have them in every room) and every time since, and at every hotel we've been at, and explained that I needed to keep soy milk cold for him. Never have I had any response other than they would bring one right up for him. Swan and Dolphin always bring one up for him also - Disney has them in the rooms now. Never done value, but I'm betting a hundred dollars if you need one for any dietary reason, they'll get it to you in a heartbeat.
I am skeptical of probiotics personally, but my DH swears by his Danactive. I was studying to be a registered dietitian after my first bachelors degree, but quit to have children. Now with the severe food allergies in the family, I guess God had a purpose for me after all.
I'm sure you'll have no problem getting a fridge. If you need an ice pack frozen for you, just ask the front desk. They'll put it in the freezer at whatever restaurant is convenient to your hotel. I did that once also.
And any food concerns, Disney is the best.
Good luck!

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I don't know if this is an option - but just like they have hot packs to keep your hands warm at games - they also have coldpacks that you shake to activate and they stay cold for like an hour. I don't nkow if they'd be cold enough or how many you'd need...but it's a thought.

They also have pretty good mini thermal bags for breast milk now that are pretty compact and are well insulated, and have a strap. It might not be too fun to carry all day, but it wouldn't be clunky. I think they also have (relatively compact) mom's (diaper) bags that look like pocketbooks.