Allergic Reactions

[redskies]

Someone has probably covered this already, but eppy pens? Nasal sprays? Antihistamines?

Prompted by someone I know who has recently developed a severe allergic reaction to nuts after years of eating the things with no trouble. She's carrying Piriton tablets - I've suggested she move to a nasal spray or ask for an eppy pen, on the grounds that I'd be worried about tabs taking too long to come into effect and her airway being compromised.

It occurred that all of the above would be useful things to have in a prep first aid kit, whether you suffer from allergies or not.

[12mp82]

Epi-pens are about £40 a hit, not sure about BBE dates, same with Nasal sprays, but pills like Piriton are reasonably cheap to buy and rotate your stock.

And of course the problem with them is it is a one shot wonder, if it doesn't work and you don't have access to another or a way to harvest the unused adrenalyn from the pen you could still be in serious trouble.

Also need the follow up kit just in case the epi fails.

http://www.epipen.co.uk/hcp/anaphylaxis ... treatment/#

[redskies]

Aye, I know they're expensive - and they can also not work. But I think it's something on my ''if I can afford it'' list. In the absence of an A&E or a doctor, it might just be a lifesaver. Severe allergic reactions can be absolutely terrifying, and it's not very unusual for someone to get one completely out of the blue after years of using/eating something. Not very common, but certainly not unheard of; I know two people it's happened to.

I thought that antihistamine nasal sprays were available over the counter these days? I'm sure I heard/saw the TV ad last summer.

[12mp82]

It was more the BBE I was thinking about with the nasal sprays, if they are small and cheap not too much of a problem to rotate out as they near their expiry date.

[essgee23]

adrenaline pens have a very short shelf life, a vial of adrenaline and using a syringe to create an injection has longer shelf life but is obviously a lot more tricky to give and need to have wits about you (obviously assuming no access to medics etc here)

piriton comes in liquid form, which is A) easier to take if swelling starts and B) may possibly be faster absorbed.

not sure of the doses of sprays, id stick with the liquid (as i already do as member of family has nut allergy)

the adrenaline issue is a biggy!!! as theyre expensive and dont last long, some GPs are restricting there issue now too. (have first hand experience of this)

edit: have a look here for info on adrenaline and how to (and not to) use it:

http://www.medicines.org.uk/EMC/medicin ... 1+in+1000/

[madmedic]

depending on the level of the reaction would dictate the level of response, Piriton (chloraphemamine) is a great releaver of reactions and a great place to start on all but life threatening reactions (and it is used IV for those too) if you have a full anphalactic reaction (as opposed to intolerance of allergy) you will need Adrenaline 1:1000 (an epipen or similar) if you see your doctor you can get these on perscription they have a shelf life of 3 years and you should get 2. but it is possible to get up to 5. if the reaction does not affect your breathing of have other life threatening effects (eg you get hives or a bit puffy) piriton is what you need. i can go into the full medical reasons of why and what they do, PM if you want all that info