Keeping Epinephrine Room Temperature Especially in Summer

Hi, I’m Jamie. 

And our family has carried dual epinephrine injectors for over a decade.

I feel like there should be a medal for that. 

Although, we didn’t always do it correctly for the first several years.

So this post is to share what we did wrong and how you can do better!

If you are a food allergy family, too…

you’ll want to make sure to keep your epinephrine injectors at room temperature.

At all times. Here’s how. 

AVOID EXTREME TEMPERATURES WITH EPINEPHRINE

It was years before I realized our epi package said to keep epinephrine at 77 degrees.

The package further says, “Excursions permitted 59-86 degrees. Protect from light.”

Well drats.

Thank goodness we successfully managed all our food allergy emergencies up until this point.

Thank you, Jesus.

So let’s talk about this a little more.

I can help you get off on the right foot with your ephinephrine auto injectors.

They are life-saving devices, and we certainly want to keep them well maintained in case we need them!

As we know, winter temps can fall below 0 degrees.

Summer temps can exceed 100 degrees.

And cars in the summer heat literally become ovens.

That’s why one of the first rules for maintaining your epi’s is to never leave them in cars.

It’s just a good habit to always have them with you, even if it’s mild outside. 

Then in the dog days of summer, you’ll be well into the habit of always grabbing them as you leave the car.

Somehow we definitely got the memo from the very start not to leave epi in the car.

That’s before there were allergy groups to tell me so.

It must have been my awesome allergist who told me that golden rule. 

But I never thought further about epi temperature control when I just toted around my baby’s epi in my purse. 

For years I simply threw epipens in my bag, with no insulated case.

However, we’ve changed our ways!

And I have a few simple tips that can help you regulate your epi temperatures easily.

Look, even our Auvi-Q clearly reminds us right on the device about temperature control.

Sweet! Because I want my son to always have this reminder, too.

PS, I love the size and ease of talking Auvi-Q!

And so does my now teen. (He’s not a baby anymore!)

If you’re in MAM membership, find our Auvi video in the member library.

Several mamas ran out to get Auvi after our demo. YAY!

But back to temps… 

HOW TO KEEP EPINEPHRINE ROOM TEMPERATURE

In our food allergy community,

there’s always a lot of chatter about latest and greatest epi cases.

But to be honest, I’ve always kept this real simple.

My son and I both carry a set of epi in insulated pouches.

He throws his pouch in his epi backpack. (affiliate)

I have my pouch in my purse. 

When we are out in the winter, that’s been suffice for us.

We don’t do a lot of winter activities outside.

Then in summer, we layer those pouches with ice packs, towels, and outing bags.

This works great for 2-hour outings like:

ball games

zoos

pools

hikes

amusement parks

We always take epi everywhere, and it’s easy to keep at safe temperatures with a little thought and effort.

See my pool packing video in our membership library. 

INSULATED EPINEPHRINE POUCHES

The pouch below is what I have kept epi in for years. 

It’s an insulated pouch from 31 Bags, but I think they quit making this handy size as an insulated option.

Well, that’s not helpful. 

So I just searched on Amazon for some new insulated options.

I like what I see, check these out! (affiliate links)

Auvi-Q Insulated Case

EpiPen Insulated Case

You may also like this larger insulated bag from our friends at Show Your Teal, as well.

Once we have our epi in an insulated home, 

we can layer the insulated pouches with towels and ice packs inside any carrying bags.

My son layers his right inside his epi bag if we are headed out for a hot outing.

 

I layer my insulated epi pouch in a variety of my own bags:

• purse
• swim bag
• picnic bag
• snack bags
• sports bag
• back packs

 

Sometimes this second bag is insulated, too.

Call me a bag lady. Ha ha! 

Because my epi may end up in a variety of places depending on what we’re doing,

I let the family know where it’s at.

The dual set I carry is back-up for my kiddo. 

The fam always know it’s in my insulated pouch, with it’s emergency label.

And I make sure to put it back into my purse when the outing is over.

We keep it simple for my son to always have his in his backpack.

It goes everywhere he goes.

That’s easier for kids trying to form good solid habits….very important with food allergies. 

FOOD ALLERGY LABELS

Handwritten labels sealed with packing tape are a simple way to mark the medications for anyone to find easily.

But if you’d like to mark your epi pouches with official labels,

check out the MEDICAL LABEL ALERT PACK at the link below.

You can customize with name, allergies, phone number, and more.

I love these!

Durable Allergy Labels (affiliate) 

TO RECAP HOW WE KEEP EPI ROOM TEMP

Grab a nice insulated pouch to always carry epi in.

Never leave epi in cars.

If you’re on a hot or cold outing, layer your insulated pouch in your purse, bag, or backpack. 

Layer in ice packs, not directly touching epi, if needed.

Make sure your epi returns to its normal place when the outing is over. 

MORE EPINEPHRINE TEMPERATURE INFO

To learn more about epinephrine temperature control…

I highly recommend you click over to Kids with Food Allergies.

I’m just sharing how our family regulates epi temperatures.

You may find other things that work for you. If so, we’d love to hear in the comments.

Tell us all the special places you take your epi! 

Hope this helps keep your epi safe and your kiddo safe and happy.

This was originally posted in May 2013.