I've been talking to a friend this evening, and the conversation turned to eye drops. She carries some all the time because she wears contacts. I keep some around in the springtime, thanks to pollen and allergies. I'm sure she's got a bottle in her purse, and in the springtime I usually keep a bottle in a pocket.
My friend mentioned she keeps a bottle in her car too, and then we wondered whether that's actually a good thing, due to temperature swings. I know most medicines have a "preferred storage" temperature range; I figure eye drops are no exception.
But if either of us wanted to keep a spare bottle in the car, would a small insulated bag help any? Maybe it would help lessen the effect of temperature variation? Or maybe it doesn't matter as much as I think it does?
What do you know, SF?
God bless America.
Posts: 14460 | Location: Virginia | Registered: July 15, 2007
Since posting, I've been surfing Amazon. It seems there are a number of small insulated bags/packs aimed at those who carry insulin. I wonder if something like that would help.
Back when I was still a working pharmacist folks would ask me how to travel with insulin in the summer, my answer was to get a small thermos put their insulin and a few needles in a plastic bag with a few alcohol swabs and some paper towels (to absorb condensation) and a couple of ice cubes. The same thing would work with any meds that you wanted to keep in your vehicle short term. Yes most meds do have a temperature warning and high heat will cause them to break down faster, so a vehicle is not a good place to keep stuff that is temperature sensitive.
Posts: 1833 | Location: central Alabama | Registered: July 31, 2009
I get dry eyes occasionally due to Lasik surgery. I always carry drops either in my pocket or my bag. But, As mentioned, I never leave drops in my car because of the temperature.
_____________________________________________________________________ “One of the common failings among honorable people is a failure to appreciate how thoroughly dishonorable some other people can be, and how dangerous it is to trust them.” – Thomas Sowell
Posts: 6653 | Location: Chicago, IL | Registered: December 17, 2007
I have had lense replacement in both eyes, that and age has lead to a dry eye problem. I carry two or three of the “individual servings” eye drops in a shirt pocket. My doctor recommended these over a bottle of fluid due to possible contamination problems.
Just another day in paradise.
Posts: 1356 | Location: NW GA | Registered: September 08, 2012
Originally posted by 12131: Carry mine in backpack. I wouldn't put any meds in the vehicle for storage. Summertime heat would likely affect its integrity.
I have opted not to get my meds mailed even though it would cost less for the same reason. When I asked my doctor, he said don't worry about it, they sit in a hot warehouse and then in box trucks and mail trucks. I still think the heat affects them.
Living the Dream
Posts: 4054 | Location: New Jersey | Registered: December 06, 2010
A prime example of my original question (assuming your get-home bag stays in your car).
If your get-home bag stays in your car, and your eye drops are in there, do you keep them in an insulated bag or something to help avoid the effect of wide temperature swings?
God bless America.
Posts: 14460 | Location: Virginia | Registered: July 15, 2007
My GHB actually doesn't stay in my truck. I carry it out the door in the morning, & into my job when I get there. The reverse in the afternoon, coming home. Occasionally it'll be in there for fifteen minutes or so if I need to go into the store. I don't want my eye drops nor radio batteries to cook unnecessarily in the Las Vegas sun. So, no, I don't leave them in the car.
"We're all travelers in this world. From the sweet grass to the packing house. Birth 'til death. We travel between the eternities."
Posts: 5664 | Location: Las Vegas, NV. | Registered: May 30, 2009
I don't wear contacts but I always have the following in my pants pockets:
A handkerchief A bottle of refresh for my eyes - never know when you get something in your eyes or what I call eye mucus. and chapstick. I just have to make sure that I scrunch my eyes together a bit and to not purse my lips while I'm using it.
"It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life – daily and hourly. Our answer must consist not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual." Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning, 1946.
Posts: 20622 | Location: The Free State of Arizona - Ditat Deus | Registered: March 24, 2011