There’s more good news for those who have serious allergies and are prone to anaphylactic reactions.
The first good news was the announcement late last year of the launch of the Anapen as an alternative to the Epipen® which was for many years the only adrenaline auto-injector available in Australia.
This gave those who are prone to suffering severe allergic reactions to things like nuts, seafood, eggs, dairy etc another choice of how to quickly inject a potentially life-saving shot of adrenaline into their body.
The only complication between the Epipen and the Anapen, was the fact that both pens function slightly differently, so if you knew how to use one, that didn’t mean you would know how to use the other.
In an emergency this potential of confusion between the way you use the different “pens” could lead to someone not using it correctly and failing to properly deliver the required dose of adrenaline. (The difference is not huge but under stress everyone can make mistakes and potentially get their training on one type of auto-injector confused with the other type.)
The other problem was that there was a difference in the recommended time that you were supposed to hold the auto-injector in place to allow the adrenaline from it to fully release into the body. An Epipen had a recommended time of just 3 seconds. But the Anapen, on its release into the market, had a recommended time of 10 seconds. Again, another potential source of confusion.
The good news is that as of 7th September 2022, the makers of the Anapen have announced that the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has approved the reduction of the recommending injecting time for an Anapen from 10 seconds down to just 3 seconds – the same as an Epipen.
So now whether you use an Anapen or an Epipen you only have to hold it in place for 3 seconds. No more confusion between the two on that point.
Of course if you have a family member or close friend or colleague who does suffer from serious allergies and you want to know how to use auto-injectors and other first aid techniques so you could save their life in an emergency, book your first aid training now at https://www.resultsfirstaid.com