Talking Allergies

Well, before paying 200$ AGAIN for the Epipens, I called KingPharma.
What they say is that they don't have any data for an Epipen that sat between 0C-15C for any length of time... So they recommend to change it, because they just don't know if it can compromise the product... Their call center is somewhere in the southern US (from the accent of the 3 people I spoke to there) where they probably live between 15C-30C that the Epis are tested for! She suggested we put the epis in somekind of "warm insulated container" when we go outside!!

If you go to the Twinject site, they say "Do not Freeze, Do not Refrigerate." so I called them too, and they told me that the epinephrine is unstable below 15C, so it's efficiency could be compromised. Ahhh... nothing like a straightforward answer!

In the last year we bought 6 Epi (2 for daycare, 2 for home, and 2 new ones after both her ana reactions)!!! I hope these are the last 2 we buy until they expire!! I don't know if the insurance is going to pay for it...


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Yesterday, my husband and I forgot to put the Epipens in our jackets when we went outside for a walk and to play in the snow with our little one... They were in a thick backpack pocket, but I'm pretty sure they went below the recommended range of temperature as we were outside for over an hour... It also happened that we packed them in the diaper bag, and mistakenly put the diaper bag in the trunk for a couple hours while driving... I'm 100% sure they didn't freeze, but in both occasion they must've sat at around 5-10C instead of the recommended 15C. The liquid is still crystal clear. Should I throw them away and replace them or are they still good? I know we're talking about a life and death issue, but I just wanted opinions on this before going to pay 200$ to get them replace! I'm so mad at myself for not thinking about this!

Also, this had me thinking, what should we do if let's say we go to the beach or hiking next summer... Temperature, even in the shade, can easily go over 25C... We always try to pack as light as possible, so no big cooler or ice pack (which would bring them cooler than 15C anyways) AARRGH!

So what do you do with your Epis to keep them in the 15-25C range in this crazy Canuck weather?

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Me - Kim - No allergies
DH Ben - 31 - Allergic to nuts and peanuts, lots of environmental allergies.
DD Anne - 4 - Asthma. Allergic to dairy, eggs, mustard, kiwi, peanuts, wheat and barley... for now...
DS Francois - 1 - No allergies so far...

In the winter my DH or I wear them in our coats in an inner pocket (close to our bodies), or the kids wear them on themselves in their EBelts.

In the summer, if we are going to the beach and there really isn't any shade (like from a tree) or anything, I put them in a little lunchbag with a tiny icepack wrapped in a washcloth. That way the icepack keeps things in the bag a little bit cool, but the EpiPens are not touching any ice or being kept too cold.

Fun and games, eh?

K.

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Karen, proud Mom of
- DS1 (12 yrs): allergic to cashews, pistachios, Brazil nuts, potatoes, some legumes, some fish, pumpkin seeds; OAS
- DS2 (1o yrs): ana. to dairy, eggs, peanuts; asthma

I understand your frustration. Two weeks ago, I got two new epipens, during all my shopping. Ten hours later, I realized that I had left them in the car all day. What a waste of money....Part of me was tempted to call the company in the hopes of them telling me it would be ok. But the practical part of my brain said it's not worth it. So it was off to the pharmacy again the next day. Now the question is, do you think our insurance company would reimburse us for the second set?

Why wouldn't they? For all they know, your child had an allergic reaction that required 2 EpiPens. You are not required to tell them exactly why you need 2 more...

That is how I always think of it.

K.

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Karen, proud Mom of
- DS1 (12 yrs): allergic to cashews, pistachios, Brazil nuts, potatoes, some legumes, some fish, pumpkin seeds; OAS
- DS2 (1o yrs): ana. to dairy, eggs, peanuts; asthma

They do- at least mine did when I left both out in the car overnight last spring.

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daughter: 6 years tree nuts, peanuts

FYI, you can call King Pharma up here. I've done so before.

Call 905-812-9911 and ask for customer service.

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Allergic to soy, peanut, shellfish, penicillin

In response to whether the insurance company will pay for replacements, we have never been denied EpiPens. There were times when we bought a whole bunch because we were traveling. We have also left some in the car and replaced them without issue.


It seems like they keep track of puffers though, I tried to stock up last month because we will no longer have insurance in May and I had to sign a paper that I had renewed 43 days early because of travel, which was true we were going skiing, however that wasn't the reason we were getting new ones. I'm sure they will make exceptions if you lose them or get them stolen.

I have the same concerns about temperature. A few years ago, I called the makers and they told me that freezing wasn't good for them because the glass casing could crack when injecting because it would be compromised by the cold. They seemed less concerned about the effect on the medication itself. Though I haven't found that to be very comforting, I'm always left wondering when we forget them in the car or we go skiing all day in very cold weather. I wish there was a definitive answer and way of knowing when it is no longer good especially since we will no longer have insurance starting in May!!

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Oldest son 9: allergic to fish and shellfish, pollens, pets, mould and dustmites
Youngest son, 5: allergic to peanuts, nuts, dairy, eggs, sesame, kiwi, asthma, pollens, pets, mould and dustmites

How timely!! I just came across this website about a product that addresses our concerns about Epis getting too hot in the summer. Really cool!! (no pun intended!) It's called the frio wallet and was originally created to keep insulin cool in warm weather.

This web site does a good job of explaining how it works for Epis as well.

http://www.allergyfacts.org.au/PDF/Frio%20Wallet.pdf

Here is a Canadian website where you can order them.

http://www.frio.ca/retail.html

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Oldest son 9: allergic to fish and shellfish, pollens, pets, mould and dustmites
Youngest son, 5: allergic to peanuts, nuts, dairy, eggs, sesame, kiwi, asthma, pollens, pets, mould and dustmites