The EpiPen autoinjector has become hard to afford recently. Here is one option if no epipen is available for severe allergic reactions in disaster and survival settings. Joe Alton, MD explains how to use epinephrine to save lives when medical help is not on the way.
Hey joe and then d here and i’m amy alton arnp our focus is disaster epidemics and first aid preparedness we want you to know what to do in situations where medical help may not be available for the short term or even the long haul one of the ways we offer this information is through our videos if you like our videos we hope you’ll subscribe to this youtube channel
Hi i’m joe alton md also known as dr. bones of doom abloom net where you’ll find close to 900 hoof 900 post videos and podcasts on medical preparedness for any disaster together with my wife amy olden a nurse practitioner where the new york times and amazon best-selling authors of the brand-new 700 page wow third edition of the survival medicine handbook and other
Books including this year’s zika virus handbook plus the designers of the awesome board game doom and bloom survival named by the prepared family blog as a teaching preparedness resource of the week we’re in the midst of an epidemic of allergies in the us and severe allergic reactions like anaphylaxis could be life-threatening epinephrine is used for the emergency
Treatment of allergic reactions to sting or biting insects food drugs and other allergens as well as even exercise induced anaphylaxis yes you can be allergic to exercise but don’t use that as an excuse to be a couch potato i’m watching you epinephrine is most commonly used these days in an auto injector that’s fast and easy to use in the united states one brand
Of auto injector the epipen manufactured by a subsidiary of pfizer pharmaceuticals and marketed by my land my lan corporation is considered the gold standard annual sales of all epinephrine auto-injectors were about 200 million dollars in 2007 epipen had about 90 percent of that market in 2015 the market size grew to 1.5 billion and epipen still has the lion’s
Share well in a move that might be described by some as profiteering my land has is the u.s. price from around 100 bucks for a package of two epipens in 2007 to around $600 in 2016 although it is still less expensive in the uk in canada the devices by the way deliver about $1 $1 worth of drug in a public-relations moved my land made savings cards worth up to 300
Bucks available to some patients to purchase epi pens unfortunately these can only be used by a small number of people who need the drug and doesn’t seem to include people on medicaid now the high prices paid by insurers however haven’t changed and they pass the cost on to consumers in the form of higher and higher health insurance premiums every year so what’s
Your best option if the epipen is now outside of your financial reach it might be using vials or ampules of epinephrine small syringes or maybe some antiseptic wipes the 1 to 1000 epinephrine concentration ampules they’re one milliliter in total and contain enough for maybe a one-time use of up to two doses the same concentration vials are usually 30 milliliters
Then they’re made for multiple uses now here’s how to use epinephrine that’s packaged this way 1 to 1000 epinephrine solution contains one milligram of drug per milliliter or cc of solution for a person weighing 30 kilograms that’s about 66 pounds or greater give 0.3 to 0.5 milligrams that’s 0.3 to 0.5 milliliters into the anterolateral thigh now that’s right about
Here about the level of your i guess the bottom of your jeans pocket repeat that dose every 5 to 10 minutes alternating left and right thighs as needed until improvement is noted now remember though that epinephrine has side effects and can cause a rapid heartbeat cause nervousness and indeed a whole set of other side effects that you should learn about of course in
Normal times get the victim to modern medical care as soon as possible especially at more than 2 were needed now for children weighing less than 66 pounds the formula for allergic reactions and it feel axis is 0.1 milligrams per kilogram it’s about 2.2 pounds so a small child weighing 20 kilograms or 44 pounds would receive 0.2 milligrams that’s 0.2 milliliters
If you use 1 to 1000 epinephrine solution the concentration is very important 1 to 1000 epinephrine solution the maximum pediatric dose is up to 0.3 milligrams that’s 0.3 milliliters of epinephrine 1 to 1000 now this all might seem complicated to you and indeed it will take longer to deliver the product than with an auto injector like the epipen unless you keep
Some small syringes perhaps prefilled with the medication something that you don’t have to fill up in the middle of an emergency in a 2010 article in the asian-pacific journal of allergy and immunology manually prefilled syringes were recommended as a way to keep ready to use epinephrine available at all times and it appears that the medication remains potent and
Uncontaminated by bacteria or fungus for about three months after that it changes color and all bets are off now this also assumes though that the syringes are stored at room temperature high temperatures will affect potency considerably over time now in a future video we’ll show you how to properly prepare a prefilled syringe of epinephrine or really any injectable
Drug from a vial or ampule now remember that the practice of medicine without a license is illegal and punishable by law seek modern and standard medical care whenever and wherever it is available this is joelle dendy that old doctor bones wishing you the best health and good times are bad thanks for watching hey if you liked this video make an old man me that is
Very happy by subscribing to our youtube channel doctor bones nurse amy following us on twitter at prepper show and joining our facebook group pages at duman bloom or survival medicine doctor bones nurse amy and don’t forget nurse amy’s entire line of medical kits are at stored uma bloom net that’s store do bloom dotnet fill those holes in your medical storage thanks again
Transcribed from video
No Epipen? How to use Epinephrine during Anaphylaxis By DrBones NurseAmy