Medications that needed refrigeration

The fridge is warm and the pens are in the door. Do not tweet a stranger for a number of hours. Call the pharmacy that filled it, or the manufacturer line on the box, and tell them how hot it got and for how long.

Some meds tolerate a stretch at room temp. Some do not. The insert knows. Your neighbor’s story does not.

If you are already shaky, sweating, or in trouble, that is 911, not a group chat.

Do this now

1. Move refrigerated meds into the coolest closed bag you have, out of the sun. Do not freeze them against ice unless the label says you can.
2. Call the pharmacist or the number on the box. Report roughly how long and how warm.
3. If you cannot reach them and you are in medical trouble, 911. Poison Control is 1-800-222-1222 for ingestions and some drug questions.
4. Ask about an emergency refill at any open pharmacy. Bring the bottle if you still have it.

Insulin and the other cold ones

Insulin, some GLP-1s, certain eye drops, liquid antibiotics, growth hormone, and a pile of specialty drugs hate heat. The safe window is specific to the product. I will not invent hours. A cooler with ice packs that do not touch the vial is a temporary bridge while you call, not a new storage plan. If the med looks cloudy when it should not, or the pen was cooked in a hot car, say that on the call.

Power, pharmacies, and hospitals

After a Houston flood, some pharmacies are down and some hospital ERs are slammed. Call ahead. If your usual store is closed, another location of the same chain can often see the fill. Insurance overrides happen in disasters, slowly. If you need a bridge dose, say it is a disaster and the meds spoiled. Shame does not fill a pen.

What you still throw

Wet pills, capsules that sat in floodwater, and anything you cannot identify. Do not dry them on a towel and hope. Photograph the bottles for a claim or a refill argument, then dispose of them where kids and pets cannot get them. Ask the pharmacist how they want spoiled meds handled if you have a large amount.

Do this next

1. CenterPoint status and when food in the fridge is gone
2. Generator placement so you do not kill someone with CO
3. Water cleanup hub

More in Power out, generators & food.