If you are diabetic or have needs to keep your medicine cool a medi fridge is the way to go. They are usually powered by 12V DC (such as your car's cigarette lighter) so that you have a way of keeping the fridge running while you are traveling. These small fridges - sometimes called micro fridges are useful for helping you keep your medications (or your injection pens) cool while you are traveling or away from home. Most will do a good job, but only for a limited amount of time. You want to make certain that the unit you purchase will keep your medicine cooled to the right temperature, and that you have enough storage area in these tiny fridges to keep your medicine supply cool.
The first thing you may want to consider is if the unit that you are interested in has a thermostat built in and if it has a inside temperature displayed. The thermostat is required to guarantee that your valuable medications are kept at the right temperature. Most of these units are set to turn off after a low temperature is reached and to turn back on when it gets warm above another temperature. This range of temperatures can vary from unit to unit, and you may want to verify that it is working properly by testing with an actual thermometer on your own. The other consideration is if you require a temperature reading on the unit itself as some will display a digital readout of the current inside termpature letting you know that your medicines are safe. Again you may want to verify for certain with an actual thermometer that you are getting the correct temperature before you rely on the medi fridge.
Most of the units will come with options for storing vials of medication as well as insulin injector pens so you have the added convenience of being able to use your insulin pen at a moments notice and you know that the medication is protected. This tiny micro fridge relies on a solid state air cooled system to keep the inside cold. This is different then having a compressor and it can get quite hot as it has an internal fan which may run continuously. The noise can be a problem for some, so if having a really quite unit is important to you try to locate one that has less noise than others which may be hard to do as it may require you to test several medi fridges.
One word of caution is that if the unit fails on you (which it will do at some point) the temperature inside the unit can get very hot and pretty much destroy any medication that you have stored within. For this reason you should keep at least a few spare vials or bottles available in a standard fridge, or even in a backup miniature fridge just in case. This may sound like a lot of trouble, but you will be happy you did this in the unlikely event that your unit wipes out the remainder of your supply on a weekend or over a holiday when it may not be easy to get a prescription refill from your doctor.
The Medi-Fridge can be useful for keeping your medication and injection pens cool for a good long time (as in 8-12 hours or longer, some will run for days and weeks at a time, but check with the unit you are buying before making a purchase). Many of these tiny portable mini refrigerators have dual power (12 V DC, like your car cigarette lighter and a standard wall outlet plug). Because the units are air cooled you will want to keep the sides and especially the bottom of the unit open and free to allow air to circulate around it. This helps to protect the fan motor from getting too hot and may add life to your mini fridge.
There are other things that you should base your decision on when making a purchase. You have to consider how much insulin (or other medication) you require for the time that you will be traveling and determine that you have enough storage space in the medi fridge to keep your supply cold. Look for a listing of the storage area inside the unit, a typical storage area is for 6 standard 10ml vials, or for storing 2 injectible pens. See above as well and keep in mind that you may want to have a backup just in case something goes wrong. One easy backup to consider would be a cooling wallet, or any other type of cooling unit which can fill in in case of emergencies. Condensation can build up in these portable refrigerators over time and you will have to keep the inside wiped and dry quite frequently, especially if the fridge is operating in warm or hot temperature environments.
These portable fridges are great for doing the job they were made for: keeping your medication cool, or cold while you travel. I'm not sure how well they will do for other cooling work, but if you need to travel and you do not want to be bothered by ice runs/cooling purchases all the time, have a look at the Medi Fridge and see if can provide you with exactly what you need to keep your medicine cool and give you piece of mind the next time you are considering a short or long trip away from home. It's likely you will get a good life out your unit and that it will work for you keeping your medications cold for your entire trip. You will not find a better, and more convenient, mini fridge for doing this job.
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Medi-Fridge MRIIx with TEMPERATURE DISPLAY Sale Price: $89.99 See Reviews For This Product  |
DescriptionMedi-Fridge MRIIx Micro Refrigerator with LED cools either 6 10mL medicine vials or 2 prefilled pens! Features an LED temperature display on the front of the unit. No more guessing, "Is my medicine safe?" Designed for refrigerating Diabetic or other injectable medicines... |
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Medi-Fridge Micro Refrigerator Sale Price: $83.14 See Reviews For This Product |
DescriptionMedi-Fridge's Micro-Refrigerator comes complete with a solid-state internal digital thermostat and is designed to refrigerate vials of medicine, including Lantus, Humulin and Humalog, and prefilled pens such as Forteo and Byetta (Exenatide), filled with other injectable medicines... |
