I went into the sauna at the gym today and suddenly realized, maybe this is not a good idea when I’m wearing my omnipod, full of insulin??? Does anyone know, or have specific proof that sitting in a sauna of 160-180 degrees for about 10 minutes will render the insulin useless? It sure doesn’t seem like it’s good to subject the insulin to this heat…
@DailyDiabetic hi Jill, 130F-180F will denature insulin and render it useless. However, your body will cook and you will die at 180F, long before your insulin goes bad. Insulin has a reasonable life span at 100F which is 3 days. The hottest a average person can take will top out at about 130F, being very unpleasant, it will make you feel like your head is on fire, and typically results in loss of consciousness, I’d be willing to bet the sauna air temperature is around 105F-115F max. This will give you and your pod about 10 minutes before the heat is enough to take your insulin above 100F. Something else to think about - a Jacuzzi puts your pod in direct contact with water and, thermodynamics being what it is… will heat your pod and insulin much faster.
I’d be more worried about sweating off the pod than damaging the insulin inside in the heat.
The additional blood flow (heat will make your heart beat fast) can reduce your blood sugar, but, the heat stress could raise your blood sugar… so test more.
cheers and good luck!
as we all know insulin and heat do not go together. i would have changed my insulin as soon as you noticed it.
Anita