Epicautious's Blog

If you have a serious food allergy, you should absolutely carry epinephrine with you.  No matter how cautious you are about avoiding your allergens and keeping your own kitchen free of them, if you eat at a friend’s or out at a restaurant, there’s always a possibility for cross-contamination, be it on serving utensils at an ice cream parlor or on a counter for food preparation.  I even recently heard a story about a boy in a local school’s classroom who touched a bit of peanut butter residue on a shared desk who was lucky enough to have his EpiPen there to save his life.

Time and time again, I hear that it isn’t convenient to carry an EpiPen everywhere and that’s why people either will not buy one, or will leave just leave it in one place.  Unfortunately, that won’t do anyone much good in a restaurant if an emergency situation were to occur.  To help make it easier to remember, carry and even forget that it’s with you, I have a few tips.

First of all, EpiPens are great.  I have carried one for years and have even used epinephrine to save my life during an allergic reaction to an allergy shot earlier this year.  But here’s something I never knew until that day.  Once you have used an EpiPen, 911 should be dialed immediately.  However, in some cases (I think my doctor quoted quoted 10-20% of the time) the reaction can return before an ambulance has arrived to care for you.  For that reason, it is extremely important to carry 2 doses of epinephrine.

Let’s face it: EpiPens are bulky and the odds that we’ll need to use them are slim.  No one really wants to carry one, and they certainly don’t want to carry two.  But is a little inconvenience worth risking your life?

Twinjects are a great alternative.  Unlike EpiPens, each auto-injector contains 2 doses so you only need to carry one “pen” with you.  Not only that, but the entire device is slimmer, sleeker, and has a clip that makes it easy to carry in the event that you going anywhere without a bag or pack to carry it in. According to my doctor, the needle is thinner as well which means in the event that you need to use it, it hurts less (not that you’ll care at that moment).  Another really cool feature of the Twinject is that when I received it, there were 2 inside.  That means it comes with 4 doses of epinephrine.  Not to mention, the needle-less demonstrator that is perfect for teaching children, teachers, or friends how to use it in case of emergency.  The only draw-back I have found with this device is that the second dosage is a manual injection.  However, the need to use this is so rare that the convenience of the system almost makes up for it.

Still think these are a pain to deal with?  Try leaving your emergency device in a purse, backpack or something else you bring with you to most places.  If you have multiple, leave one at school/work and one at home; this can eliminate the need to carry it.  If you do carry it everywhere and find it annoying, I recently learned about this site and it might solve your problems.  One Spot Allergy was founded by a mother’s desire to keep her son safe from an allergic reaction.  They carry some allergy-essentials such as medication belts and holsters, training materials including EpiPen trainers, identification products and more.  

No matter which device you decide to use and how you decide to carry it, be sure to alert a friend where you keep it.  And of course, be sure to discuss all options with your allergist.  Safe and happy eating!

EpiPen
Twinject