Learn To Be An EpiPen® Lifesaver This Allergy Awareness Week

Would you know how to save a life if you needed to respond to someone having a serious allergic reaction (anaphylaxis)?

Allergy New Zealand is calling on Kiwis to learn how to use an EpiPen® this Allergy Awareness Week (11-17 May). Allergy NZ Chief Executive Mark Dixon said; “We want all Kiwis to feel confident to act in an allergy emergency, just as we would with basic CPR and accessing a defibrillator”.

To help, Allergy New Zealand has launched a poster outlining the steps a person needs to take to administer an EpiPen® - and potentially save a life. The poster can be viewed HERE.

Since Pharmac began fully funding EpiPens for people at risk of anaphylaxis in February 2023, more and more people in our communities are now able to carry them.

“With no cost barrier, New Zealanders of all ages and stages of life can now have a pen with them if they need it,” Mark said. “Pharmac has recently renewed its funding commitment - a decision we applaud.”

“This Allergy Awareness Week, our focus is on educating people on how to use an EpiPen®. By following the actions in our poster, anyone should be able to step in and help someone if they are having a serious allergic reaction and are not able to help themselves. We encourage people to share the poster widely with family, friends, and community networks.”

An EpiPen® is a medical device that contains a single, pre-measured dose of adrenaline that will alleviate symptoms for a person experiencing anaphylaxis (the most severe form of allergic reaction) until emergency services arrive. It is designed for quick and easy use by the person themselves, or if they are too unwell, family members, friends, teachers, colleagues, or members of the public.

The steps in the poster outlining how to use an EpiPen® to save a life, include:

• How to identify if someone is experiencing symptoms of anaphylaxis
• How and where to administer the EpiPen®
• Actions to take - If possible, lie the person/child flat; administer the EpiPen®; call 111; say the word ‘anaphylaxis’ to the call taker; and follow their instructions until emergency services arrive.

“An EpiPen® is easily identifiable through its distinctive blue and orange colours at each end,” Mark said. “A really easy way to remember how to administer an EpiPen® is: ‘Blue to the sky, orange to the thigh’. If you remove the blue safety cap, put the orange end to the outer mid-thigh and push firmly against the leg for three seconds, the EpiPen® will be triggered and can deliver the dose of adrenaline without you seeing or needing to handle needles.”

“We hope we can encourage people to step in and act without fear if they know, or come across, someone who needs this urgent, lifesaving treatment. Knowing how to act, could literally make you a lifesaver. And it’s not hard.”

Allergy Awareness Week is also an important time for local groups and clubs to check how accessible EpiPens are in their communities. For instance, does your school, fire station, camping ground, Department of Conservation (DoC) hut have an EpiPen®, and are key people trained to use it?

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