EpiPen Administration

7/1/15

Today I review counseling instructions on EpiPens. I wanted to make sure I was confident in counseling them so patients could accurately administer them in an emergency. First, each box of EpiPens comes with a training pen which should be used by the patient to practice so they are prepared if they need to use it.

When using the EpiPen:
1. First remove the pen from the carrying case
2. Remove the blue safety pin to activate the pen
3. Using a swinging motion inject the pen into the upper thigh (it must not be inject anywhere other than the upper thigh)


As soon as an EpiPen is used 911 needs to be called immediately since it is an emergency. It is important to hang on to the used pen so they can see that the pen has been used. If it has been 15 minutes and another dose is needed another EpiPen can be used if emergency personnel have not arrived.

There is a program Mylan provides for schools that allows qulifying public and private schools in the US who have a valid prescription get 4 free EpiPen Jr or EpiPen. If they use that supply prior to the annual eligibility date they can receive 4 new ones at no additional cost. This is a great program because it provides school children access to EpiPens in case they do not have one or do not know that they have an analphylaxis response to a medication.