Protecting your life-saving epinephrine.
Yesterday marked the first day of summer, though temperatures suggested it started a couple or more weeks ago. And with temps only going up from here, I want to take a minute to remind you of the ill effects heat can have on our epinephrine auto-injectors, and share a few facts and tips for protecting this drug we simply cannot be without.
- Store epinephrine at its intended temperature – room temperature (a safe range is 59° – 86°F). Please do not put it in the refrigerator. Also please do not leave it in the car; as extreme heat has been known to make the epinephrine lose its potency.
- Periodically check to make sure your auto-injector is still good. You can do this by looking at the epinephrine through its clear window. If it’s brown, pink or contains a precipitate (a solid particle), get a new one immediately.
- Keep your light-sensitive auto-injectors in a case and out of direct light to help maintain their potency. Again, see #2 for guidance.
- Carry an ice pack in extreme heat. Even if your allergy medicine case is insulated, it becomes necessary to have additional protection for your epinephrine against the rising temperatures.
Should you find yourself without an adequate allergy medicine bag to assist in #’s 3 and 4 above, I invite you to check out AllerMates’ selection.
Our insulated cases, though compact, pack a lot of functionality, allowing you to easily carry two epinephrine auto-injectors, such as EpiPen®, or one Auvi-Q®, as well an ice pack. And that’s just on the left hand side.
The right hand side features a loop that will securely hold an asthma inhaler, if needed, and the pocket below can hold your Benadryl (and/or another Auvi-Q injector) and a copy of your allergy action plan.
Bottom line, please make sure your oh-so-critical investment is protected during these hot summer months, so that you don’t find yourself in a sticky situation.
Should you have additional tips for handling epinephrine in the summer, please share in the comments below. Also, for questions related to our allergy medicine case, shoot them to help@AllerMates.com. We’re happy to answer them.
Stay cool out there! : )
Iris
P.S. Want to hear more about epinephrine? Sign up for my monthly newsletter, and I’ll share with you what I know.
Iris Shamus Wife, mother to three awesome kids and founder/CEO of AllerMates. Based in New York, Iris and her team create helpful content, answer emails, ship their products and obsess every day about keeping kids safe.