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(08) 6110 0570admin@pdchealthhub.com.auCooling wallets and insulated travel cases that keep the insulin you are using out of the heat, on a Perth summer day or a long-haul flight. Below: what we stock, where insulin can safely go, how a cooling wallet works and what to pack for a trip.
Insulin is a protein, and both heat and freezing damage it. Damaged insulin does not work as well, which can push glucose levels up for no obvious reason. The NDSS advice is simple: keep unopened insulin in the fridge, keep the pen you are using below 25°C, and never leave insulin in a car or in direct sun. In Perth, that takes some planning from spring through to autumn.
PHOTO NEEDED · Adult client slipping an insulin pen into a soaked cooling wallet at a kitchen bench before heading out, face visible, natural light. No brand names readable. Landscape 4:3.
PHOTO NEEDED · Insulin pen lying on a car dashboard in bright sun, shot from inside the car, no brand names readable. Landscape 4:3.
A parked car, a beach bag or a sunny windowsill gets far hotter than the air around it. Keep insulin with you, in the shade, and in a cooling wallet when you are out.
PHOTO NEEDED · Insulin pens standing in the door shelf of a home fridge, well away from the freezer compartment, no brand names readable. Landscape 4:3.
Do not let insulin freeze. Keep it away from the back wall and the freezer compartment of the fridge, and never let it touch ice or an ice brick in an esky.
PHOTO NEEDED · Close-up of hands holding a clear insulin cartridge up to the light to check it, no brand names readable. Landscape 4:3.
Do not use insulin that has frozen or been left in the heat, or that looks wrong: a change in colour, lumps or flakes, or clear insulin that has turned cloudy. Start a new pen and tell your pharmacist.
FRIO evaporative cooling wallets and Glucology insulated travel cases. Select a product for colours, sizes and the current price.
PHOTO NEEDED · Product photo of the FRIO Cooling Wallet Duo, supplied by the brand. Transparent or white background, 1200px wide.
PHOTO NEEDED · Product photo of the FRIO Cooling Wallet Large, supplied by the brand. Transparent or white background, 1200px wide.
PHOTO NEEDED · Product photo of the FRIO Cooling Wallet for insulin pumps, supplied by the brand. Transparent or white background, 1200px wide.
PHOTO NEEDED · Product photo of the Glucology Travel Case Standard, open to show the insulated pocket, supplied by the brand. Transparent or white background, 1200px wide.
PHOTO NEEDED · Product photo of the Glucology Travel Case Large, open to show its compartments, supplied by the brand. Transparent or white background, 1200px wide.
Unopened insulin and the pen you are using have different rules. These follow the NDSS insulin fact sheet. Check the leaflet for your own insulin too, because a few brands allow a different number of days.
In the fridge, between 2°C and 8°C. Keep it in the door or on a middle shelf, away from the freezer compartment and the back wall, where it can freeze.
At room temperature, below 25°C, for up to 28 days for most insulins. Write the date you started it on the pen, and throw out what is left after 28 days, or after the time your insulin's leaflet gives.
Never leave insulin in a parked car, including the glovebox and the boot, even on a mild day. Take it with you.
Carry it in a cooling wallet or an insulated case, in the shade and out of direct sun. Keep it off dashboards, beach sand and sunny windowsills.
Useful for long drives and camping. Wrap the insulin so it never touches ice or an ice brick, because direct contact can freeze it.
Do not use it, even if it looks normal. Start a new pen or vial, and keep a spare at home for exactly this. Our pharmacists can help you replace it.
Based on NDSS guidance, checked 19 September 2026.
Bring it in or call one of our pharmacists. We can check what you have, explain your insulin's storage rules and help you replace it.
Talk to our pharmacyA FRIO wallet holds crystals inside a fabric pouch. Soaked in water, they swell into a gel, and as that water slowly evaporates it draws heat away from what is inside. It keeps the insulin you are using at about room temperature, not fridge temperature.
Diagram based on FRIO's own instructions and test figures. Soaking times differ by wallet size.
Take the inner pouch out and soak it in cold water: 5 to 8 minutes for the Duo and Pump wallets, 5 to 12 minutes for the Large. The crystals swell into a gel.
Pat the outside dry with a towel, put your pen or pump inside, and slide the pouch back into its cover.
It cools by evaporation, so it needs air around it. Do not seal it in a plastic bag or an airtight box. It cools less in very humid weather, such as a tropical holiday.
When the gel starts turning back into crystals, soak it again. Later soaks take about 3 to 4 minutes. In FRIO's testing, a soaked wallet held its contents at about 25°C for at least 45 hours at 38°C.
What to sort before you go, based on NDSS travel advice. For a long trip or a big time difference, plan your doses with your diabetes team first.
Take twice the insulin, pen needles and testing supplies you would normally use for the length of the trip, in case of delays, loss or damage.
All insulin and diabetes supplies go in the hand luggage of the person living with diabetes, in a cooling wallet or cool pack. Split them across two bags if you can, in case one goes missing.
Ask your doctor for a travel letter listing your conditions, medicines, doses, how you store them and the devices you use, and print several copies. Keep insulin in its pharmacy-labelled packaging.
Keep your pump and CGM on. Metal detectors are safe, but x-ray equipment can damage pumps and CGM transmitters, so ask staff to check you and your bags by hand instead. Security staff are required to respond to that request.
Keep track of your home time and your destination time. If you use an insulin pump, change its clock to local time once you arrive. Ask your diabetes educator how to adjust long-acting insulin across a big time change.
For the rules on taking PBS medicines overseas, call the Travelling with PBS Medicine Enquiry Line on 1800 500 147, and check the rules of each country you are visiting. Take out travel insurance that covers pre-existing conditions.
Book with a credentialled diabetes educator before you go. We plan your doses across time zones, what to pack, and how to manage sick days away from home.
Book a CDE consultWhat people usually ask about keeping insulin cool and travelling with it.
No. An evaporative wallet such as FRIO keeps its contents at about room temperature, which suits the insulin you are using. Unopened insulin still needs a fridge, between 2°C and 8°C, so on a long trip use the fridge where you are staying.
No. The NDSS subsidises products such as pen needles, syringes, test strips and eligible CGM sensors, but not cooling wallets or travel cases, so these are paid for in full. Insulin itself is a PBS medicine, supplied on prescription.
Yes, as long as it cannot freeze. Wrap it in a towel or keep it in its own box so it never touches ice or an ice brick, and do not use insulin that has frozen.
Yes. Members can add cooling wallets and travel cases to their box, so they arrive with their other supplies. Each delivery is $15 Australia wide, or free when you collect from Bedford Pharmacy 777.
No. The NDSS advice is not to use insulin that has been frozen or left in the heat, even if it looks normal. Start a new pen or vial, and ask our pharmacists if you need a replacement supply.
The NDSS suggests double what you would normally use for the length of the trip, with the same for pen needles and testing supplies, all in your hand luggage. Take your doctor's letter, and keep insulin in its pharmacy-labelled packaging.
[1] National Diabetes Services Scheme. All about insulin fact sheet, version 1.0.0, 1 July 2026. ndss.com.au, checked 19 September 2026.
[2] National Diabetes Services Scheme. Travel fact sheet, version 4.1.0, June 2025, and Travelling by air. ndss.com.au, checked 19 September 2026.
[3] FRIO. FRIO instructions, and How a FRIO works. frioinsulincoolingcase.com, checked 19 September 2026.
[4] Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. PBS contacts for consumers: Travelling with PBS Medicine Enquiry Line, 1800 500 147. pbs.gov.au, checked 19 September 2026.
General information only, based on NDSS guidance and FRIO's instructions, checked 19 September 2026. Check the leaflet for your own insulin, as in-use times differ between brands. Product details are from the PDC shop. Prices and stock change, so each product page shows the current price.
Book with one of our credentialled diabetes educators before you travel. We plan your doses across time zones, go through what to pack and check how you store your insulin. BlueLoop members can add cooling products to their box.
Or go straight to a service
Phone (08) 6110 0570 · Cooling wallets and travel cases are not NDSS subsidised · Medicare, NDIS, DVA and private options across our services
For GPs, endocrinologists and nurse practitioners
Use our online referral form and tick Diabetes Education. Our credentialled diabetes educators plan doses across time zones, insulin storage and sick days away from home, and send a summary back to you.
