2 Answers

• Reputation: 4209 Q&A: 121 4 6 1581 87 19 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Follow Following 5 Russ Campbell, NWEBS

  1 0 If you feel that it is imperative to have such a device at your facility and you have already obtained one for just such emergencies, then it would be most appropriate to also pay for a consultation with an physician/pediatrician that specializes in emergency medicine to really have a better idea on when it is appropriate to use it and what parameters to follow concerning children. Medical devices approved for emergency use by non-medical people like the recent line of defibrillators are designed and prepared for use by persons without medical training. They come to market having been tested for use by lay people being able to follow the pictogram and limited instructions posted on them and being able to follow the programmed computer voice instructions. I am sure you are maintaining current first aid and CPR certifications and would expect that this additional training could be covered by the same mandate. Right now there are no physicians listed as contributors to this category and I would be reluctant to have you rely on the opinion of contributors here on the best use of such a device. I don't think you want to find yourself being deposed in legal proceedings explaining how you knew it was alright to use the device because of what was said by a Qlander. Most immediately I would suggest getting a good magnifying lens and sit down and meticulously read all of the product information sheet that came with the pen and if the info is not there you could call the manufacturer also. But for best practice get a consult with an emergency doctor. Russ Campbell, NWEBS answered in Kid Health & Safety about 1 year ago | Report 1 comment by Sacrelicious… 1 0 Yeah, you're probably right. I don't like relying on Dr. Internet, but it's really the best resource I've got most of the time. And yes, our medical certifications are up to date (Wilderness First Aid, although I'd like to go for WFR someday). Sacrelicious commented about 1 year ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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• Reputation: 2173 Q&A: 44 0 19 988 85 2 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Follow Following 2 MyrnaMinkoff

  0 0 So, I have another (slightly tangetial) suggestion: have you considered taking a Wilderness First Aid (WFA) or Wilderness First Responder (WFR) course? I mention this because these courses are geared towards handling accidents in remote areas where help is hours or days away. The standard for regular first aid is to be able to provide urgent care for ten minutes -- the amount of time it will take an ambulance to get to your location and take over. If you are in a very remote area, you may find yourself in the position of caring for someone in critical condition for hours before you can get to help. This is an example course: http://www.remotemedical.com/wilderness-medicine-training/Wilderness-First-Responder-WFR As for the question at hand, though you are not legally licensed to give medication, you will typically be protected under good samaritan laws. (And consent is implied once a victim is unconscious.) You could certainly try to get an epipen jr., but given that these medications DO expire, it's more important that you keep the regular epipen on hand, as well as lots of benadryl. With any epinephrine shot, you only buy about 15 minutes before the anaphylactic reaction will start up again -- you MUST administer benadryl a the same time as the shot, and keep administering it until you get to the hospital. Again, taking a WFR or WFA course will review not only strategies for keeping people alive in remote areas, but discuss in detail how to negotiate thorny legal issues of providing care in emergency situations. MyrnaMinkoff answered in Kid Health & Safety about 1 year ago | Report 1 comment by Sacrelicious… 0 0 Yep, I've had WFA twice (October 2008 and June 2010), both from Remote Medical. Good class. I'd like to get my WFR training someday if I have the time/money. We have a Twinject Epipen here (for extra buffer time) and I stocked up on hella Benadryl, so we're set to go there. The general message from my instructors are that good Samaritan laws are nice to have, but it's even nicer to not need them. If the person is conscious, hand them the pen and have them do it. Otherwise, implied consent. I think you always have implied consent with a minor, but people's emotions run high with their kids and I wouldn't necessarily run at the kid with a needle if the parent was there to do it instead. I had to go through a lot of rigamarole to get the Epipen, and it'll be much harder to get an Epipen Jr., especially because kids seldom come here. It's just that IF a kid is here and IF they have an allergic reaction, I want to make sure I don't do more harm than good. So, it sounds like we're on the same page, but thanks for checking! :D Sacrelicious commented about 1 year ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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