New research on insulin safety temperatures could be groundbreaking for people with diabetes living in developing countries.
For those who use insulin, it is known that an opened vial should be kept in the refrigerator until it expires.
However, doctors who worked in a camp in northern Kenya found they saw many people with diabetes-related illnesses.
Further research found that one of the main problems was that without cooling their insulin, many people’s lives revolved around going to and from the hospital to receive it.
Realizing that this was unsustainable, they reached out to researchers at the University of Geneva, who agreed to study insulin temperatures.
During their study, they tested the effectiveness of insulin at 77 to 99 degrees Fahrenheit, the same temperatures people would experience in the camp.
They found that once opened, the insulin remained effective even in the camp’s tropical temperatures and could be used safely for up to four weeks.
This finding could have serious effects on people who live in hot countries and do not have access to electricity and cooling.
Professor Leonardo Scapozza of the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Geneva told Insider, “All protein breaks down when heated, but there are proteins that can go back when you cool it back down, and insulin seems to be one of them. “
Mohamed Hussein Bule, a Somali refugee who works as a teacher at a primary school in Dagahaley, said the findings had a positive impact on his life.
The 27-year-old said, “I was supposed to pick up insulin at the hospital early in the morning to take home and then go to work. I missed a lot of classes. Now I take a vial in the morning, take my glucose, and continue with the program as my day goes on. I don’t even feel like a patient with diabetes right now. I am very happy to be on the program. “
