# Insulin below freezing -- should we risk it?

**URL:** <https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/insulin-below-freezing-should-we-risk-it/3120>\
**Category:** Insulin\
**Created:** [January 6, 2018, 7:34am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/insulin-below-freezing-should-we-risk-it/3120 "2018-01-06T07:34:26Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 8

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**Author:** ![Michel](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/michel/32/387_2.png) [@Michel](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Michel)\
**Post date:** [January 6, 2018, 6:19pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/insulin-below-freezing-should-we-risk-it/3120/8 "2018-01-06T18:19:01Z")

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> [@Sam](#):
>
> Interestingly I haven’t been able to find a proper description of the actual freezing temperature.

I spent 30 minutes doing that at 4:00am when I read your query 🙂 But I did not find the answer either.

This is @Chris’s insulin freezing experiment: [Does Freezing Humalog Destroy It?](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/does-freezing-humalog-destroy-it/584)

This is @Eric’s unrefrigerated insulin experiment: [My insulin experiment for Michel...Relax everyone!](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/my-insulin-experiment-for-michel-relax-everyone/271)

Both were enlightening to me. @Chris’s answer on this thread was extremely valuable to me in gauging this:

> [@Chris](#):
>
> We kept small residual amounts in a vial in the freezer for a week, before we turned our freezer down, and eventually went to the deep freeze in order to ensure the insulin was visibly frozen.

as was @Sam’s:

> [@Sam](#):
>
> I’ve had hotel fridges go down into the mid 20s a number of times on me and my insulin had never actually frozen.

This indicates to me that the freezing point for _their_ insulin must have been quite low. @Chris, was that the Humalog of your experiment?

While I tend to believe the insulin is likely OK, I also feel like @Thomas:

> [@Thomas](#):
>
> If there is little to no cost pressure involved, I would not use it. There are so many questions about why this and why that. For me it would not be worth introducing yet another uncertainty.

What about doing a timed experiment to see how well it activates? If the activation curve is normal, I would feel comfortable that it survives unscathed.

My conclusion from this thread, though, is that it is likely, from a preponderance of evidence, but not beyond a reasonable doubt, that the freezing piont of most insulins is somewhat lower than that of water.

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