I leave soon for a trip. I have two problems with airplane travel. The first one is having to keep my medication cool. I will deal with that soon. But I tried to tackle the second one a week ago. I have to inject said medicine with pen needles.
I am supposed to dispose of these needles in a proper manner. That means having my very own Sharps container. What is that? Well it is that hazardous waste container you usually only see at the docs office. I have my very own right now. It is a 3 quart version. It was the smallest my QFC had available for purchase.
So I went to another store that I frequent sometimes to and from work. I never get prescriptions from their pharmacy and thought I would ask their advice on how to get a smaller Sharp's container. They said they could only order a 1 quart container. My pen needles are only about 3 centimeters by 3 centimeters. I don't need to travel with such a large container. And that takes up a ton of space for a carry on. And you are supposed to travel with all your meds and supplies with carry on.
I got home and checked online. Sure enough. There is nothing smaller than a Quart that is hazardous waste appropriate. At the pharmacy, I asked what they suggested. The guy said, If I was your friend and not your pharmacist, I would tell you to take an old prescription bottle and store them in there until you get home and then put them in your Sharps container.
I am going to pretend he was my friend and do this. But if I had money, I would create my own Sharps travel product. There are enough travelers in the world that would benefit from something like this that is cheap. I am just flabbergast there is not a container already out there. Sheesh!
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Sunday, May 20, 2012
The Travel Conundrum
I was out of town this past Thursday through Sunday. It was the first travel I have done since the starting of all my medications. So this involved several new steps.
First, I had to make sure I had some supplemental food sources. I brought along bananas and Cliff Bars because I was not sure if a store was close to my hotel and what would be available between 7am and 8am (right before I had to start trekking to the Convention Center). Sure enough, they came in very handy in the morning and I was able to get my carb/protein combo I needed.
Second, I had to figure out how to travel with my my injection supplies. Luckily, I was carpooling the 300 miles and not flying. I still need to figure out the flying stuff soon. My local grocer/pharmacy said they were selling me a travel sharps container* for pen injection needles, but I found out too late it was a one time use for a larger needle.
*Sharps containers are those red (or white) Hazardous Materials containers you usually see at the doctor's office.
Why did I need a travel sharp's container? Well the one I have is HUGE and I did not want to pack it. I had to though, and it worked out alright. When we got to the hotel, I was shocked to see that I did not have a micro fridge. I have to keep my injection medicine cold. First, I filled up the ice bucket with some ice and put the meds there. I called the main desk feeling quite foolish about asking my question. I told them my meds needed to be refrigerated, and the response was they would be right back up with a medical frig.
So then I was curious about what a medical frig looked like. It was nothing special. Just a micro fridge. but it did the job I needed it to do.
Lastly, conferences can be very long, and many times, healthy (non fast food) choices are not near convention centers. While there were a couple healthy choices in the little food kiosk, I will not pay $3.25 for a Yoplait Yogurt. They are not even that healthy. So food was tricky sometimes. I need to eat every 3-4 hours with a carb/protien combo and that was hard. I had to miss a little bit of business I wanted to hear because I had to get food during one session.
This all should not sound like a big deal, but next time you are at an extended conference,business meeting, or day long class, I want you to set your alarm to ring ever 3.5 hours and see how difficult it can be to stay on a schedule. Try to pack lightly when you have to carry a sharps container, meds for 4 different times of the day for 4 days, alcohol wipes, and meds you need to keep cold, and see how difficult small packing can become. Add on that packing some of your own food. The one saving grace was that because there was an odd number of girls, I was the lucky girl this time and had a room to myself. I did not feel so self conscious about injecting myself each morning. I know my trips coming up will not be the same, but I feel more prepared.
I guess the lesson this time would be to not judge folks who seem to be traveling with some excessive baggage.There might be a very good reason why they have 2-3 bags!
Capt Mel
First, I had to make sure I had some supplemental food sources. I brought along bananas and Cliff Bars because I was not sure if a store was close to my hotel and what would be available between 7am and 8am (right before I had to start trekking to the Convention Center). Sure enough, they came in very handy in the morning and I was able to get my carb/protein combo I needed.
Second, I had to figure out how to travel with my my injection supplies. Luckily, I was carpooling the 300 miles and not flying. I still need to figure out the flying stuff soon. My local grocer/pharmacy said they were selling me a travel sharps container* for pen injection needles, but I found out too late it was a one time use for a larger needle.
*Sharps containers are those red (or white) Hazardous Materials containers you usually see at the doctor's office.
Why did I need a travel sharp's container? Well the one I have is HUGE and I did not want to pack it. I had to though, and it worked out alright. When we got to the hotel, I was shocked to see that I did not have a micro fridge. I have to keep my injection medicine cold. First, I filled up the ice bucket with some ice and put the meds there. I called the main desk feeling quite foolish about asking my question. I told them my meds needed to be refrigerated, and the response was they would be right back up with a medical frig.
So then I was curious about what a medical frig looked like. It was nothing special. Just a micro fridge. but it did the job I needed it to do.
Lastly, conferences can be very long, and many times, healthy (non fast food) choices are not near convention centers. While there were a couple healthy choices in the little food kiosk, I will not pay $3.25 for a Yoplait Yogurt. They are not even that healthy. So food was tricky sometimes. I need to eat every 3-4 hours with a carb/protien combo and that was hard. I had to miss a little bit of business I wanted to hear because I had to get food during one session.
This all should not sound like a big deal, but next time you are at an extended conference,business meeting, or day long class, I want you to set your alarm to ring ever 3.5 hours and see how difficult it can be to stay on a schedule. Try to pack lightly when you have to carry a sharps container, meds for 4 different times of the day for 4 days, alcohol wipes, and meds you need to keep cold, and see how difficult small packing can become. Add on that packing some of your own food. The one saving grace was that because there was an odd number of girls, I was the lucky girl this time and had a room to myself. I did not feel so self conscious about injecting myself each morning. I know my trips coming up will not be the same, but I feel more prepared.
I guess the lesson this time would be to not judge folks who seem to be traveling with some excessive baggage.There might be a very good reason why they have 2-3 bags!
Capt Mel
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