Temperature loggers for epipens – anecodote

Epipens are temperature senstive, so how do you know if they are still effective. Temperature loggers to the rescue! Here’s an anecdote from one of our customers…

“My son, Connor, is anaphylactically allergic to wasp stings.  If he is stung he can develop breathing difficulties in only a few minutes and needs immediate intervention in the form of an adrenaline injector (e.g. Epipen, Anapen). He is 13 and crazy about sport, spending as much of his day as possible rowing, playing soccer, tennis, hiking in the bush, etc.  The life-saving adrenaline injectors are wonderful but he must carry one with him at all times and they don’t like consistent temperatures above 25°C (or indeed, too low either).  We live in the tropics where, in summer, temperatures can average 30°C or more for most of the day and can spike to 60°C in an overheated car.  So how can we assess whether those adrenaline injectors are going to work when he needs them?

Well, now we know the history of each injector.  Connor carries a LogTag Temperature logger with Display in his Epipen pouch so we can track just what its exposure has been.  Early on, it was scary.  Every day in summer the injector was spending more (sometimes MUCH more) than four hours at temperatures between 30°C and 40°C, and occasionally when Connor had taken it off (forbidden!) and left it in the sun or in the car, it was up in the stratosphere.  Just knowing the risk helped to focus attention on exactly what to avoid, so we have been able to reduce its temperature exposure.  The Epipens still exceed their recommended temperatures in summer frequently which can’t be helped as there is no alternative, but we can replace them early if we feel the temperature has been exceeded for too long or by too much.

The LogTag Temperature loggers with Display are small, light and effective and have brought huge peace of mind for us.”

It’s great when we get feedback like that. So if you need temperature loggers for epipens, just let us know.