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EpiPens emerge as life-saving kid accessory
Growing number of allergies has led to 36 percent jump in prescriptions
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Janeen Zumerling of Auburn Township, Ohio, knows better than to let her 4-year-old son, Jason, go anywhere without a pocket-sized medical device that can save his life.
Like growing numbers of parents of severely allergic kids — and the children themselves — Zumerling keeps a nearby supply of EpiPens, single-use shots of epinephrine that can quickly counter Jason's potentially fatal reaction to foods from gluten and eggs to milk, peanuts and tree nuts.
“I have two in the kitchen cupboard, two in the hall closet by the door that goes outside, two at school and two in the backpack,” says 38-year-old Zumerling, who's had to use the device once, when Jason was 20 months old. “There’s always [an EpiPen] nearby.”
She's not alone. About 3 million American children are suffering from food allergies, a number that’s increased 18 percent since 1997, according to a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control.
As allergies to peanuts, milk, eggs and gluten have become commonplace, a cult-like following has emerged around the EpiPen, which auto injects a pre-measured dose of epinephrine to someone experiencing anaphylaxis, a severe whole-body allergic reaction.
An equally strong market has emerged for stylish EpiPen carriers, including some adorned with robots and strawberries for young kids and discreet holsters for self-conscious teens.
Doctors prescribed 1.4 million EpiPens in 2003, but by 2007 that number had reached 1.9 million — a 36 percent rise, according to research provided by IMS Health, a healthcare information and consulting company.
“A pediatrician 10 years ago might have written five or 10 EpiPen prescriptions, and now writes 40 or 50,” said Dr. Robert Wood, Director of the Allergy and Immunology division at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore, Md. “If you go to an elementary school nurse, 10 years ago she might have had one or two EpiPens on hand. Now she has 50 to 60.”
Dr. Frank Virant, an allergy/asthma specialist at Seattle’s Northwest Asthma and Allergy Center, said that after skin and blood tests have established a severe allergy, “From a physician’s standpoint, you can never be faulted for giving someone an EpiPen.”
100 to 200 die each year of food allergies
When Jason Zumerling was 20 months old, he had an allergic reaction to egg and started showing signs of anaphylactic shock: hives, unstoppable runny nose and projectile vomiting. Other symptoms can develop in seconds or minutes and can include dangerously low blood pressure, swelling in the face and throat so severe it can block the airway, fluid in the lungs and abnormal heart rhythms.
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The epinephrine in an EpiPen works to reverse the effects and gives the child a 10 to 15 minute window to get further emergency medical assistance.
Each year in the U.S., anaphylaxis caused by food allergies results in estimated 100 to 200 deaths, sometimes within minutes of exposure, according to Jennifer Love, a spokesperson for the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network.
EpiPen is the brand name of the original auto-injector that was introduced by pharmaceutical company Dey, L.P. in 1980. For years, it was the only product of its kind in the United States. (Currently one other company also makes a similar product, but EpiPen still maintains 97 percent of the market share.)
The Epi Puppy
The rising number of EpiPens has created a growing market for fashion-inspired EpiPen carriers and portable pouches.
Some carriers are geared to young kids and come adorned with robots and strawberries. Other styles have belt straps or leg straps for teens who may be self conscious about visibly carrying their pens. Others for older kids or adults come in various designs and fabrics that are marketed as functional, convenient or just plain hip.
There are some in neon colors (easy to spot). Others come in weather-resistant material, since EpiPens must be protected from extreme temperatures.
A handbag designer from Markham, Ontario, in Canada, Helen Yamashita, started her own line of KoziEpi pouches two years ago. Best sellers are the pink EpiPen Princess for girls and a camouflage design for boys.
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Debra Stafford Debra Stafford designed the Epi Puppy for her daughter Hayley (pictured) when she started kindergarten and needed a friendly, convenient carrying case for her EpiPens. Now she sells them around the U.S. and Canada. |
Debra Stafford of Alberta, Canada, got into the EpiPen carrier business out of necessity. When her 4-year old daughter Hayley, who is allergic to peanuts, was starting kindergarten, Stafford could only find adult-size fanny packs in which to carry the EpiPen. Desperate on the day before school started, she found a pencil case in the form of a stuffed brown puppy. She attached a cord to it and sized it for her daughter’s tiny waist.
The Epi Puppy was born. Stafford developed a prototype with a New Jersey company that creates plush toys. The chocolate Lab fits two EpiPens and has an adjustable, kid-sized belt.
Hayley Stafford, now 10, says it doesn't bother her to always carry an EpiPen. She has never been embarrassed by it, she says, because it's just something she has learned to live with. Besides, her friends liked her Epi Puppy so much, they wanted their own.
"My friends wanted one to wear to carry stuff in," said Hayley, who recently bought a new EpiPen carrier that's purple with stars on it. "My friends say they like the puppy better, but the new one goes with more of my clothes," she said.
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