Epipen

bike-a-swan

Righto, in a rather unnerving turn of events, I found out today after getting stung by a wasp that I have anaphylaxis. Didn't do badly, managed to get to the GP's before collapsing in the automatic doors of waiting room, which I thought was good going!

Anyway, the long and short of it is, I now have to carry an epipen, which for those who don't know is basically a shot of adrenalin, carried in a plastic tube about the diameter of a 2p piece and a bit longer than a pen. I'm thinking of the best ways to carry it by bike. Does anyone have the same, what do you do? Any suggestions from anyone else welcome too...

It needs to be easily accessible, time is of the essence, and also findable by anyone else- I usually use a camelbac off road, just a saddlebag on the roadie. Cheers!

Anonymous

You should, hopefully have enough time to get to it in a Camelbak if you're stung. Keep it in an outside-ish pocket though, not buried underneath loads of spare tubes, food etc. It's more likely that someone else would find it if they had to help you then.

Or, you could do what my ex did. She just kept hers in a drawer at home :roll:

peter413

My dad has to carry this spray after his recent heart attack.

It's quite a bit smaller than what you describe but he just sticks in his bag or pocket if he doesn't have a bag on

asquithea

Zip tied to your rucksack strap?

Or maybe tied on a string round your neck? I clip pens to the neck of my T-shirts all the time, and for some reason you stop noticing it's there really quickly.

pte1643

bike-a-swan wrote:

It needs to be easily accessible, time is of the essence, and also findable by anyone else

Get yourself a wristband (assuming you haven't got one), that alerts others to your condition.

pte1643

peter413 wrote:

My dad has to carry this spray after his recent heart attack.

GTN?

peter413

pte1643 wrote:

peter413 wrote:

My dad has to carry this spray after his recent heart attack.

GTN?

It's a red bottle with a white top if that helps

pte1643

peter413 wrote:

pte1643 wrote:

peter413 wrote:

My dad has to carry this spray after his recent heart attack.

GTN?

It's a red bottle with a white top if that helps

Yep, that sounds like the stuff.

nettlerash

My mrs has to carry them for the same reason, you can get neoprene pouches for them that clearly state what's inside they can be put onto a belt or clipped to the outside of a camelback.

Spugnut

Epipen pouches. Quick google search...

http://www.anaphylactic.co.uk/catalog/epipen-carriers-epipen-pouches-c-26_22.html?osCsid=kdqm4ddv5quvtekf9hve3n7bm4

My brother has various similar holders and pouches for his insulin pens.

chedabob

Glue some velcro cable ties to it and tie it onto the frame?

bike-a-swan

Cheers all, some good suggestions there. I was thinking perhaps some sort of sealable tube attached to the bottle cage mounts, maybe with a fairly bright sticker pointing at it... Have to have a look at some of them in more detail.

Splatter

my daughter has to carry one out runing - I'll have a search - it's in a virtually indestructable plastic custom fit tube - try to post pics and a link later. b.t.w. she ( thankfully ) has never had to use one as on both occasions ( exercise-induced anaphalaxix ) we've been around and managed to get her to an A&E in double quick time!

trailspirit

www.yellowcross.co.uk

images http://www.flickr.com/photos/trailspiri ... 394890549/

Cheers!

Anonymous

holy crap, I didn't know you could get exercise induced anaphylaxis :shock:

CowboyBob

Dated a girl once who had t carry one. She had a few about her person/bag at all times.
When cycling she would let me know which out side pocket one was in.

Getting a pouch for you camel back strap would be the logic method. EAsy enough to make or buy from camping shops/ army surplus stores.

trailspirit

yeehaamcgee wrote:

holy crap, I didn't know you could get exercise induced anaphylaxis :shock:

Set off by some combination of a certain food - they never have found out which one, and strenuous exercise - by that I mean racing ( running ). Both times she first went blotchey and "bumpy" - like severe nettle rash, then tongue swelling, but on both occasions, because of prompt action, everything turned out fine!

bike-a-swan

Trailspirit, that's fantastic, cheers. Just the sort of thing I was looking for! I'm sure you'll all be happy to know I seem to be suffering no ill effects- cranked out just shy of 60 miles today, felt the strongest I have in a while!

bike-a-swan

Trailspirit, that's fantastic, cheers. Just the sort of thing I was looking for! I'm sure you'll all be happy to know I seem to be suffering no ill effects- cranked out just shy of 60 miles today, felt the strongest I have in a while!

Papa Smurf

I have to carry one too now after discovering I too have Anaphylaxis, but mine was caused by over 400 stings (3 guesses as to my hobby!)

Ask your GP about being refered to a Toxicologist/Allergist for de-sensitisation. It's a 3 year course of injections starting out at 1 a week for 8-10 weeks then every 6 weeks for 3 years.
I'm about 4 months into my course and I no longer react to the stings, but I still carry a Epipen for safety's sake.

Always a good idea to familiarize everyone your riding with how to use one, as shockingly 80% of people who inject someone in need do it the wrong way round and end up jabbing themselves!

joec1

Hiya Buddy,

Im a first Aid Trainer from a well known Volountary Organisation, and we generally teach (as we were tought) that Epipens are usually either in a bag, or pocket.

Most of the people i know who have need for one, use a small bumbag (not the camp looking type) but the one that holds travel money safely...alternatively an ipod style sports arm band would be ideal

its worth also mentioning that you ought to tell others around you where it is, incase you need help finding it.

All the best.

pte1643

Papa Smurf wrote:

mine was caused by over 400 stings (3 guesses as to my hobby!)

Nettle tester???

TommyEss

Roadie for The Police?

joec1

Bee Keeper?

TommyEss

joec1 wrote:

Bee Keeper?

Now that's just silly - beehave!

blablablacksheep

having it on the pocket in your camelpack or saddle bag is fine it useally takes around 1 min i belive for a full shock to cripple you anyhow so you should be ok with it inside your pack.

it shouldnt ruin your bike ride worrying about such things just take the right steps like having it near and also maybe wear a wrist band telling people that you need one.

(i say this in case you suffer a black out for some reson somone passing by can see your wrist band and knows what to do, my friend has one for his and also his t2 diab)

Anonymous

I wouldn't risk it in a saddle bag. I've seen plenty of them open by themselves, or just fall off.
The last thing you need if you've been stung is to find that your saddle bag has jetissoned your epipen.

BigShot

A couple of points about epipens.


1> They go out of date. I heard a tale of a doctor who died after being stung and using his out-of-date epipen, which didn't work at all.

2> (This, I was told by a beekeeper with allergies.) An epipen isn't a cure. It's a way to buy time. If stung you need the epi to stop the reaction (and I'm sure he said something about carrying antihistamine if it could take a while to get to hospital) and then hot-foot it to hospital to get help. He told a tale of someone using an epipen and then carrying on like nothing happened and getting into a bit of bother later on.

Some thoughts anyway. I imagine your doc told you about all this but it's always worth a mention.

Anonymous

Very true about the Epipen just giving you time.
I'm surprised that anyone who needs to carry one would not know that.

joec1

BigShot wrote:

2> (This, I was told by a beekeeper with allergies.) An epipen isn't a cure. It's a way to buy time. If stung you need the epi to stop the reaction (and I'm sure he said something about carrying antihistamine if it could take a while to get to hospital) and then hot-foot it to hospital to get help. He told a tale of someone using an epipen and then carrying on like nothing happened and getting into a bit of bother later on.

kind of true,

epipens provide adrenalyn which is combatant of itching of the skin, a nettle like rash, swelling of your lips, tongue, throat, hands and feet, flushing, weak pulse, tightening of the chest, difficulty in breathing, fall in blood pressure and in some cases loss of consciousness.

depending on the seriousness of the reaction depends on how effective the epipen will be (think of it in the term of stings... if stung once, it might be perfect and you would be fine again, but if stung by a hundred bees at the same time, then it would not neccesarily work as well)

This will all have been discussed by your doctor, and is personally and individually based (so not really On Topic with the Origional Posters question )

I would use an Ipod arm band like holder, but make sure you put it in a hard case, and have identified its presence to other riders with you.

BigShot

Aye, Joe. Definitely a bit OT. Sometimes worth posting as a reminder though as the story of the Doctor shows, some people do need a reminder once in a while. I suppose it's easy to forget these things when you're carrying something (you will probably never need) on a daily basis.

Thanks for the reply though. I'm lucky enough to not have any sever reactions (as much as my hayfever gets pretty debilitating at times and my allergy to cats makes me chuckle at the thought of cat-genocide, it's nothing compared to some of the really severe ones).