Refill Those Epinephrine Auto-Injectors!

By Kelley Lindberg

I heard a surprising and disturbing statistic 2 weeks ago when I was at the Mylan Specialty Allergy Bloggers Summit:

Only 5% of allergy patients are still refilling their prescriptions for EpiPens three years after their last reaction.

That’s scary. The speculation is that the farther you get from your last reaction, the less likely you are to think about it, so the less likely you are to take it seriously.

Really? To me, that’s kind of like someone who drives for three years without a traffic accident, so they stop wearing a seatbelt. Then maybe they stop using their turn signals. Then they stop braking at stoplights. I mean, hey – they’ve been just fine for three years, so obviously all those traffic rules and safety precautions were unnecessary, right?

If you’re vigilant for three years and nothing bad happens, does that mean the danger no longer exists? Or that your vigilance kept you safe?

That’s a no-brainer, right? It usually means that your vigilance kept you safe.

Unfortunately, it’s when you stop being vigilante that you discover just how important your vigilance was. And then it’s too late to get it back.

If you haven’t had an allergic reaction in three years, fantastic! That’s great, and it means you’ve been careful – and probably lucky, too. It doesn’t necessarily mean your allergy has vanished, or that anaphylaxis has suddenly disappeared from the planet. (Wouldn’t that be great, though?) It just means that you’ve managed to navigate your way through the minefield of a food-filled world safely for three years. It doesn’t mean that you won’t step on that landmine tomorrow. Or next month. Or three more years from now.

Even if you’re crazy-careful, accidents still happen. You sit down at a table with a peanut-butter smear you didn’t notice. Your favorite brand of cookie suddenly contains egg for the first time EVER, and it was the one time you didn’t think to read the ingredients. The kid at the next table drops his lunch tray and splatters your milk-allergic child with milk. The pasta dish you’ve ordered at your favorite restaurant for years suddenly contains sliced almonds because the chef got an adventurous urge to jazz things up a bit.

And those accidents are why we need to carry our epinephrine auto-injectors every day, everywhere. Yes, be careful. Yes, read labels. Yes, avoid eating risky foods. But don’t assume that will be enough. You can control your own actions, but you can’t control the people around you, and they cause accidents, too. In fact, I’d be willing to bet that at least half of all food allergy reactions are probably caused by the actions of other people (on airplanes, in restaurants, in school cafeterias, at soccer games, etc.).

So refill and carry those epinephrine auto-injectors. Not because you’re careless. But because you’re careful.

To help make it easier to remember to refill that prescription, Mylan has a nifty app for smartphones that helps you track your EpiPens and get reminders when they’re expiring. Called “My EpiPlan,” the app can also show a how-to training video, display tips and articles about managing allergies, and store your allergy profile to show medical professionals. The My EpiPlan app is available on iTunes and Google Play.

Don’t have time to refill your prescription? Remember, it takes less time to get a refill than it does to go to the ER when you’re in anaphylactic shock. I’m just sayin’.

And right now, you can still get your EpiPens for $0 co-pay (up to $100) by going to the EpiPen website, printing the coupon, and taking it to your pharmacy with a valid prescription. Click here for more info: EpiPen® $0 Co-Pay Offer. 

[I disclose in any communication made by me about EpiPen® (epinephrine) Auto-Injector and/or the Mylan Spcialty Blogger Summit that such communication is at my own discretion and based on my own opinion. I also disclose that my travel expenses were compensated by Mylan Specialty in exchange for evaluation and feedback on information presented during the meeting.]

Choosing an Epinephrine Auto-Injector for Your Food Allergies

by Kelley Lindberg

If you have the potential to experience an anaphylactic reaction to an allergen (whether it’s to food, medication, insect venom, or something else), you need to carry at least one (preferably two) epinephrine auto-injectors. So let’s talk about epinephrine choices on the market today.

Epinephrine is a form of adrenaline that is injected into the outer thigh during a severe reaction. The sooner you administer it, the more likely it is that the allergic reaction will be controlled and the patient will survive. The later you administer it, the longer the reaction has to take hold, and the harder it may be to control. It’s practically a miracle drug – it can stop an allergic reaction in its tracks, or at the very least slow it down. It’s been around for decades, and it used to be the only medicine available for asthma attacks.

Physicians are now saying that epinephrine should be considered the first line of defense, rather than an antihistamine like Benadryl, if the reaction appears to be severe. There are no situations where doctors say you should NOT give epinephrine if the patient is experiencing a severe allergic reaction.

A dose of epinephrine may only last about 20 minutes, and a reaction can last much longer, so that’s why you should have two injectors, and why you should always call 911 when you’ve administered one. And the allergic person should be monitored for at least 24 hours after injections, in case a secondary reaction occurs.

There are now four choices of epinephrine auto-injectors, since a generic version has come onto the market:

• EpiPen: For years, the EpiPen has been the gold standard of epinephrine auto-injectors for treating anaphylactic allergic reactions. See www.epipen.com for more information and for a video on how to use one correctly. Your doctor or pharmacist can show you how to use one, using a trainer (which has no needle or medicine in it).
• Auvi-Q: The new Auvi-Q auto-injector is making a big splash lately, because of its new size and shape (rectangular and flat – smaller than a cell phone, so that it fits in a pocket) as well as its audio instructions. Yes, it talks you through the injection process using a small computer chip in the case. See www.auvi-q.com for info and a training video.
• Adrenaclick: Similar to an EpiPen, the Adrenaclick doesn’t require you to jab your thigh – you put it against your thigh and then press firmly. See www.adrenaclick.com for more information and for a training video.
• Generic: A generic version of the Adrenaclick auto-injector is now available. Because it is a generic, some pharmacies and health insurance companies may automatically substitute it for the auto-injector you thought you were getting, so be sure you know exactly which auto-injector you’re getting, and be sure you’re trained to use whatever you get. Apparently this generic is causing some confusion when patients are trained on the EpiPen and then receive a generic auto-injector at the pharmacy, for example. Here is the website for more info: www.epinephrineautoinject.com.