Supplies, Storage and Cost

The practical side of this condition is storage and money, and both are manageable with a bit of planning.

Insulin is damaged by heat, and Indian summers are unforgiving.

• Unopened insulin belongs in a refrigerator — not the freezer, and not in the door where the temperature swings.
• A vial or pen in use can usually stay at room temperature for around a month, but in a hot Indian summer "room temperature" may still need a cool box or clay pot.
• Never let insulin freeze or sit against ice. Frozen insulin must be discarded.
• Test strips also degrade in heat and humidity. Keep them closed and dry.
• During power cuts, keep the fridge shut. It holds temperature for hours if left alone.

On stocking: keep more than you think you need, and split it between two places. Running out on a Sunday, in a small town, with a baby, is a situation worth spending a little to avoid.

Cost is a real and lasting pressure. Indian families of children with diabetes have reported spending a median of around ₹13,980 a year on care — which for many amounted to roughly 22% of household income.

Some things genuinely reduce it. Ask about government and hospital schemes for children with diabetes, which vary by state. Ask whether your child's medicine has an equally effective, cheaper equivalent. And keep every prescription and receipt — you will need them for any scheme or insurance claim.

Raise cost with your team openly. It is a clinical issue, not a private embarrassment: a plan a family cannot afford is a plan that will not be followed.