EpiPen Hack we all need to know

Disclaimer I haven't done this myself, but people I trust have. My feeling is that this is too important for us as rural and remote people to ignore .

Adrenaline Requirements in Anaphylaxis

Here's the lowdown. For people in true anaphlactic shock, that are more than 20kg, the required dose of adrenaline is 0.1 - 0.5g per kg of body weight, and this may need to be repeated at 15 minute intervals. (Source)

The dosage from an epipen in New Zealand is 0.15 for a prescription for a child up to 30kg and 0.3g for anyone over 30kg. (source). However to keep the adrenaline stable there is triple the dose inside the epipen.

That means an average epipen isn't able to hit the optimal (especially if we have a person heavier than 50kg or with severe anaphlaxis, and if we are waiting for help for some time. (source)

What You Can Do

Disclaimer This has not been taught to me, however, if there is the chance this could help any of our people, I would love to make sure that you can try it. I have shown this to nurses in real life and they agree with it.

Here's the video I checked

References and more info:

• ASCIA Guidelines Acute management of anaphylaxis - Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA)

• https://www.medsafe.govt.nz/profs/datasheet/e/EpiPeninj.pdf

• Anaphylaxis response/management – Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora

• (246) EpiPen® Wilderness Medicine Technique for Obtaining Additional Epinephrine Doses - YouTube

• Dosage-of-IM-Adrenaline-for-Anaphylaxis-2019-Large.pdf

• You can also check for more information here.