epi pen advice

Jonah has been diagnosed with a nut allergy :( and so now we are traveling with an epi pen. Question for anyone who is already traveling with an epi pen is how do you keep it safe on the trail? I see the case doesn't keep the epi pen from breaking and since it needs to stay between 64 - 78 degrees how do you keep it cool (but not on ice since you aren't supposed to refridgerate it).
I know that it is probably overboard to take on trail, but we find food in caches every once in awhile and you never know if he'll react to some other unknown thing (someone's peanut butter soaked hands playing with trinkits in a cache and then J-dude pawing through trinkets).
Your thoughts????

So Sorry to hear about the lil' guy. The worst is he's too young to understand why.
I carried an epi pen when I got out of the hospitol from an allergy attack. They really are pretty sturdy , but I would just carry it seperatly from your normal Bag. Basically to be able to get at it fast. Maybe a hip bag or even a drink bottle that can hung over the shoulder. Keep it out of the sun and put it in a cooler while traveling and you should be OK.
Be Brave little Mamma, it's gonna be a long journey, but you will get there in the end!!!!
Keeping you in my thoughts and prayers.
Opalsns

A child size epi-pen should fit into one of those plastic cigar tubes. Also a pencil along the epi-pen, wrapped with some bubble wrap and clothe medical tape. It will protect it as well as insulate it from the extremes of cold and heat. Epi can also be given nasally, I think their is a nasal misting despensor available now. Ask your pediatrician.

I carry mine on my belt in a Minimag light case.

Back pack here. We figure a warm epi pen is better than no epi pen.

thanks great ideas! I didn't realize they come in a plastic case (we finally got them yesterday) so i'm not as worried about breaking them now. I just have visions of needing them and they don't work because at some point they got too hot and the medicine degraded. I know I'm a worry wart, but it specifically said NOT to refridgerate so I can't figure out if it is 90 degrees what the %&%^*% do they expect us to do? I'll just go with the flow and protect from sunlight and if we'll be out for more than 30 min to 1 hour I'll plan to bring cold pack. deep breathing!
Thanks again.

Wooh - the room were we stored our Epi supplies at Public Health was not air conditioned. It was often over 80 degrees in those rooms on a hot day. Despite many complaints to the supervisors and the pharmacist - everyone assured us everything would be fine. Maybe some of the paramedics amongst us could comment on Epi-pens and the heat........or a google search would help.

Mini-man, had a great team in his great family and the rest of GCM wish him the best - he will be hiking around us before we know it!

the google searches and the manufacturers recommendations that i have seen so far say 55-86 degrees. what keywords are you using? As I said, for a short time I'm not esp concerned, but if we are going to be out for an hour or 2 (granted we rarely go out when it gets that hot, but you never know)....i don't want to be replacing these all the time.

I did see many folks are using 'frio' bags which do keep them at a cooler temperature. btw, anyone who does have an epi and you like the frio bags, if you are crafty you can make one yourself, the gel crystals are available at most craft stores.

Sorry to hear of your lil ones misfortune. Cloud herself was diagnosed (the hard way) with NUT allergies at 7 months old. Scary being on the road so far from home when it hit. We carry a special fanny pack, "the pink Pouch" we call it. We keep a couple of epi pens in it some Tylenol and liquid benadryl and a few other misc first aid supplies. At this point one shot will only hold her till the ambulance arrives. Sadly she's been to the ER way too many times but Praise God, never needed to be intubated.

Protect the pens from extremes: Direct sunlight, hot cars, frozen glove boxes etc. and watch the expiration dates. Practice (on an orange or apple) with out dated pens or practice pens. The time you neeed it is not the time to try to figure it out. You can't be afraid to use it when needed. Better to use it then doubt and not... The MOST Important thing you need to learn is to be NUT FREE. No I'm not talking about the friends you keep, but what is in your house, at the parties you attend, school, church every where. There are nuts in just about everything. Read all labels, all the time. Food mfgs can and will change ingredients and processing methods. And sadly I must also say, trust no one.. You need to protect your child at all costs. Teach everyone in your family on the seriousness of this diagnosis, it is a matter of life and death. And yes, it does qualify as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Overboard on the trail? I think not Have you never seen a nut tree in the wild?

Reviving this thread is good. It is a reminder. Knowing some of our caching friends have nut allergies should be taken into consideration when we do "Pot Lucks". I like having out cards and a marker so folks may label the dish they bring.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ripton

Overboard on the trail? I think not Have you never seen a nut tree in the wild?

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Actually... Yes! LOL!

I don't now anything about nut allergies, and don't know what nuts might bring on an allergic reaction, but here in Maine I often see Butternut trees - especially near old farmsteads. And the ditches along Maine's logging roads are a great place to find Hazelnuts. We also have Beech Nuts, and I note that this seems to be a very good year from them. I don't recall seeing Hickory nuts here in Maine, but I know you have them down there in Mass, so they might be in southern Maine. :D:D

Hello again....

Did you get an epi-pen auto injector? Or did you get an Ana-Kit......a preloaded syringe, needle attached, the kind where you push the plunger to make the medication come out? If you have an Ana-Kit it probably came in a plastic case, syringe sits inside.....from earlier posts you wrote on this thread, that may be what you have.
However, if you did get an epi-pen autoinjector....it should come in like a plastic cigar-type case, and the device you use is round hard plastic about the diameter of your finger. These are very strong and you should not have to place a pencil next to it, or use anything to protect it. The needle is spring loaded and is up inside the device until you punch it against the thigh...the needle then pops out into the thigh and delivers the medication. You already know about holding it against the thigh as the epi is being injected. In our previous emails I was referring to the epi pen autoinjector. If, instead, you have an Ana-Kit that looks like a real syringe inside the case then write back and we can talk about that.
Either way, keeping it inside of a pack works well...just avoid extreme cold and extreme heat. And do check the expiration date...... Finally, here's hoping the need never arrises for you to worry about using it :-)