We have never been in the situation where we needed to administer an epi-pen for Declan (which we are VERY thankful for) although we always have to carry 2 pens with him at all times..just in case.It makes me feel sick just thinking about jabbing an epi-pen into my son but I hope that if and when it is needed I will be able to do it without hesitation and not even have to think.
Epi-pen's have used by dates and when they expire the usual routine is to hand it back to the chemist so that they can dispose properly of the sharps even if it has not been used.
So when we noticed that one of Declan's epi-pen's had expired we thought, if it's just going to be chucked out by chemist staff anyway why don't we practice on an orange or mandarin to see how hard you really have to push down on it, if we can feel the click when the needle is correctly inserted etc.
Tonight Andy tried the expired epi-pen on a orange, we were both very shocked and surprised to see the needle after coming back out of the orange...the whole whopping 2cm of needle!!!!! :O
Andy said that he felt the click and as you can probably see from the photo he was pushing quite hard into the orange.
I'm glad we did this little exercise,those little bit's of information might just make the difference. Thank goodness we have the technology and intelligence in this day and age to have such a life saver of a pen!
It also reminds me that we are still yet to buy a trainer epi-pen for family and friends to have a look at and practice with.
Here's hoping we never have to use one for real
