Do you use Enbrel and are you travelling?

If you have answered yes to the above then you may want to know of my experience with that dreaded word HCH.

Up until last year when going on holiday I would contact HCH they would provide a letter for me to take to hand to security so that medication was not scanned, they also supplied me with the correct travelling bin just right for our pens, it will hold four.

Forward to now, I contacted them requesting letter for travel, they no longer provide these you have to get your hospital to provide letter, (which I have done whether it will say not to scan not sure at this juncture as only requested on Monday). I took delivery of Injections and sharps bin on Tuesday. On opening the travel bin was the incorrect one you would not be able to place the pen in there by any means. Called HCH and spoke to a very nice gentleman, (would say an original HCH staff), who immediately understood my problem when he looked at the order that was placed. It turned out it was taken by a new member and they would be notified. The correct bin was ordered and sent out first class post which I have received today. I waited until now to make absolute sure that it was the correct one before posting this, and it was!

So when ordering a travel sharps bin this is what you require:

Enbrel - Travel Bin

Daniels 0.6L Yellow Sharps Bin DD509YL

I discovered that if you only need this bin for one weeks travel, that if you just gently press close and not fully push down it will appear shut but that you can open it again, which I then use for the following three weeks to fully fill the bin, even with the swabs that are supplied and extras (I am a bleeder every time I inject so have to use more than one).

Being naive I thought all these bins were opened and cleaned for another use did not realise they were incinerated so now make sure I completely fill these sharps bins before the start of a new one.

Lecture over, enjoy your day.

[francherry]

Thank you Georje, this is really useful information

[jazie]

Hi georje

Just wondering is your embrel refrigerated during the flight?

I occasionally go on ten hour flights. But I've always switched to steroids while away as I thought embrel would not be kept cold enough.

Thanks

[magglen]

When travelling I carry my Enbrel, wrapped in bubble wrap in a very small cooler bag. I was told by HCH that it remained OK for quite a while without being refrigerated [need to check with them how long they mean]. One time, because I was travelling light, I wrapped the syringe up in the cool box on it's own out of a box. . I didn't take a sharps box but, as soon as I had used the syringe I took it to the local pharmacy [in Italy] and they disposed it for me with no problem

[bpeal1]

I bought one of these for travelling with my Humira. amazon.co.uk/Packit-PK004-M...

You freeze the whole bag and it stays cold for up to 10 hours. Because the gel bit its completely enclosed inside the construction of the bag it is perfectly safe to go through airport security.