EMTs in Israel In Need of Lifesaving EpiPens Following Worldwide Shortage

Photo provided by United Hatzalah An EMT in Israel administers an EpiPen to a young girl. There is a worldwide shortage of EpiPens, which is affecting individuals who have severe allergies that can cause anaphylactic reactions. The EpiPen is an auto-injection delivery system that administers a dose of adrenaline hormones which increases the heart rate and blood pressure and reverses the swelling of the airways. In cases of severe anaphylactic reactions, it can slow the allergic reaction and reverse its effects long enough to allow first responders to arrive or for a person to get to the hospital to receive further treatment.  According to recent articles by medical journals around the globe, the ongoing EpiPen shortage has hit the one-year mark with no end in sight. Numerous families around the globe, including many in Israel, are struggling to obtain the self-administering injection devices, which they have come to rely upon.  While the EpiPen is just one kind of auto-injection device that delivers set doses of epinephrine, it has long been one of the most popular and well-known auto-injectors of choice. In part, this is due to the EpiPen being widely accepted by schools as well as many other institutions, something that has made it the standard that most teachers and staff are trained on. The shortage doesn’t only apply to the EpiPen devices but other auto-injection devices are in short supply as well. “Purchasing an EpiPen or similar device in ...
Source: JEMS Patient Care - Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: International Patient Care Press Releases Source Type: news