In the event of an unintentional injection, seek medical care right away. Sorry there was an error savinig your comment. After 8 hours, the entire finger was pink and warm, either because of the decreasing effect of epinephrine after 90 minutes [2], or because of the delayed effect of the attempted treatment. It can be administered while wearing pants. Symptoms of breathing problems, nausea or vomiting, itching, and swelling can come on quickly and become life-threatening. This may also cause the loss of sensation to the ring and little fingers. Yep, been there done that. Can You Get Ink Poisoning from a Pen? | The Truth Exposed Hi there! For about ten seconds. What happens if you accidentally use an epipen? WALTHAM, Massachusetts -- Some scary moments unfolded after an 11-year-old accidentally stabbed himself with a real EpiPen during a health class lesson. If you were playing around and happened to inject into your thumb (I have seen that one), you might need to have some emergency treatment due to fracture of or impaling the distal phalanx and concern about vasoconstriction of vessels in the thumb. I recently accidentally stabbed myself in the leg with my old and expired epipen. Unintentional injection of epinephrine can easily occur when handling epinephrine auto-injectors. What happens if you inject an EpiPen without needing it? The practice pen that I had looked almost identical to the real thing. Call first to speak to a nurse or doctor then take their advice on whether you need to visit the medical office. Because epinephrine has a powerful effect of making blood vessels contract, your finger may be at risk of not getting sufficient blood flow to survive. The intravenous alpha-blocker phentolamine was not prescribed. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. Although hand sanitizer has been shown to be effective in killing germs, its usage might have unintended consequences. NAPLES, Fla. - A Florida woman stabbed her sister with an EpiPen as the two were drinking together because she's "allergic to drunks," according to the Naples Police Department. Hi Alice, Then theres a deep ache as the medicine is released into the muscle. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. )Aug 27, 2019. While injecting the epinephrine, count to ten. Privacy Im sure there are many more hypothetical situations but these are the few I could come up with. (Needless to say I dumped that dose and got a fresh syringe for the cat :lol: :lol: ) Case 1: A 15-year-old boy found an EpiPen on a bus. Required fields are marked *. But everything else seems normal. Mehr S, Robinson M, Tang M: Doctor - how do I use my EpiPen?. All Rights Reserved. With an EpiPen, the First Time Is the Worst Time What happens if you accidentally take an EpiPen? Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. When handling epinephrine auto-injectors, it is easy to accidentally inject yourself with epinephrine. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Do not inject into your veins, buttocks, fingers, toes, hands or feet. Again, hold the thing in your clenched fist, fingers and thumbs away from either end. Call them and ask before you go down there. The epinephrine is from epinephrine injection, USP 1:2000 (0.3 mL) in a sterile solution. Most cases of anaphylaxis happen quickly and fully resolve after theyre treated. An unintentional injection into the hands or feet might reduce blood supply to these tissues, potentially resulting in tissue death. This sub is under reconstruction, please be patient as we work to improve it. 6 What happens if you use an EpiPen and dont go to the hospital? Peripheral perfusion is restored usually in less than 5 minutes. It says it expired in 2007. A puncture wound is of course a wound that is caused by a direct puncture to the skin and often the below layers. For best results, ask your childs healthcare team to demonstrate how to properly use an epinephrine shot[3]. California Privacy Statement, Have you ever had to deal with an accidental epinephrine injection? The symptoms can rebound, returning hours or even days after you get an epinephrine injection. If you handle electric shock devices without thinking about what you're doing, you could be risking serious injury. Correspondence to Then you can just throw the case away. Then theres a deep ache as the medicine is released into the muscle. 3 Does it matter where you stick an EpiPen? The amount of alcohol in most sanitizers is sufficient to kill most bacteria and viruses. At Dust Mite Solutions we try to answer the most important questions you have about allergies. In the process, she stabbed Alex's hand and injected him with the drug. Dp says this is just to be expected but I'm worried I've damaged the circulation or something. Either way, glad you're OK! How to Avoid an Epipen Accidental Stab #shorts - YouTube This however, is the worst-case scenario. Accidentally injecting EpiPen into your hands or feet may result in a loss of blood flow to those areas, and resulting numbness. What Happens If You Use An EpiPen Without Needing It? What happens if you stab a nerve in your hand? Epinephrine Auto-Injectors: Take Care to Avoid Finger Sticks! - Poison Full recovery was noted at a 2-month follow-up exam. I decided against it. Symptoms of an accidental injection are not usually so severe and may include: temporary numbness or tingling. He's a bit younger than you so perhaps they weren't always that way. The drug wasn't supposed to be inside of the EpiPen an 11-year-old boy stabbed himself with during health class. EpiPen pro tips. The victim will likely experience pain when the wound is being cleaned so if the person is conscious, give her/him a warning. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. It's gone a kind of pale bluish white colour, feels quite numb and cold. How hard would it be to stab yourself to death? - Factual Questions What may seem like a simple cut can, in fact, be a deep stab laceration. What are the physical state of oxygen at room temperature? If epinephrine is injected into small areas such as fingers and hands by mistake, blood vessels will constrict at the site of injection. I try so hard to keep it together. old, shot himself with an epi-pen. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. You hold it in the middle of your clenched fist . The reason: Children and older adults tend to share needles, which leads to infections that can cause serious heart problems if not treated immediately. Pricking yourself (by accident) after pricking the cat? Denkler K: A comprehensive review of epinephrine in the finger: to do or not to do. His blood pressure was 175/85 mmHg, heart rate 80/minute, and respiratory rate 16/minute. This could lead to a heart attack. Your injection can be a reason for concern if injected in the hands, feet, or digits. In preparation for this article, I tried to find data on the amount of Americans who currently have EpiPens a medical device used to self-inject an emergency dose of epinephrine to treat life-threatening allergic reactions, known as anaphylaxis and the closest number I could find was in a 2016 Wall Street Journal article that estimated prescriptions to be around 3.6 million nationwide. The sharp sting will hurt but lasts less than 10 seconds. 2001, 108: 114-124. A physician in a Family Practice training program accidentally injected epinephrine into his left thumb while reading the operating instructions of an autoinjector (Epipen). If the wound was left open or if stitches were used, clean the wound daily: If surgical tape was used, keep the area clean and dry. Mix of 1 tablespoon (14.8 ml) of salt to 1 cup of warm water. The most common problems were 1) not holding the auto-injector in place long enough; 2) pressing the wrong end into the thigh; and 3) using too little force to inject into the thigh. It does not store any personal data. Wash it. Puncture Wound Care | HealthGuidance.org We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Cookies policy. report some recovery [6]. The epi-pen was expired, therefore, he thought the needle would not come out. 1994, 3: 193-195. Florida woman accused of drunkenly stabbing sister with EpiPen, says How long does it take for epinephrine to wear off? You may even want to print out the instructions and keep them in a handy place (for example, fold it up and keep it with the epinephrine shot). On this episode of ER or Not, Dr. Other possible injuries include redness, swelling, blistering, or peeling of the skin, bleeding under the skin, or scarring. Case Series: A care provider accidentally administers an Epipen containing 300ug to thier own thumb/ digit whilst trying to figure out how to administer to a patient. Here are some additional tips to help you avoid self-injury while using your EpiPen: Always follow instructions printed on your medication bottle. Velissariou et al. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Treatment included topical nitroglycerin, oral vasodilators and warming of the thumb. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. Lock up your EpiPen in a safe location, so it is not available to children or others who might misuse it. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. May described his son as turning bright red in color, and said he was sweating profusely by the time he arrived at the hospital. A physician in a Family Practice training program accidentally injected epinephrine into his left thumb while reading the operating instructions of an autoinjector (Epipen). This Med Student Went Viral For Showing How To Properly Use An EpiPen Hinterberger JW, Kintzi HE: Phentolamine reversal of epinephrine-induced digital vasospasm. pain and swelling at the injection site. Epinephrine, also known as adrenaline, works by relaxing the muscles of the airways and constricting the blood vessels -- buying people time to get to the emergency room for treatment.