Keep Your Diabetes Medicines Safe: Storage Tips

Check and Double-Check the Label

Every time Keith Campbell takes his insulin, he checks the expiration date. He's been doing this since 1949, when he was diagnosed with type 1 at age 8. He was one of the first patients to use an insulin pump -- he got his "29 years and five months" ago -- and he consistently checks the code number to make sure it is the same as that on the meter. "Somewhere back in my childhood, I was taught to check and double-check the label," Campbell says.

This early interest in medication ultimately turned into a profession. Campbell, Pharm. D., R.Ph., is a distinguished professor of pharmacy at Washington State University, where he holds the R. Keith Campbell Endowed Professorship -- an honor named after him

His basic advice on proper care of diabetes medications: "You should be self-monitoring your blood glucose and making sure you are reaching your target blood sugar levels. If your blood sugar is out of control, look at the drug's expiration date or where you have stored it."