hello all, my daughter of 15 months has been diagnosed with pa. the allergist gave a script for a vial of epi and syringe. I was wondering if the epi jr would be ok. she weighs 21 lbs. I dont like the thought of trying to fill a syringe in a crisis situation. any info would be grateful.

On Sep 16, 2006

We also had a vial of epi and a syringe at that weight. She did not get epi jr until she was bigger.

On Sep 16, 2006

We have carried an epipen Jr. since DD was 11 months old-- she weighed a bit under 18 lbs at that time.

There are risks to epinephrine overdose, however. Our allergist felt that the benefit of rapid administration (by other caregivers, mostly) outweighed them in light of DD's Hx. (I agreed with her.)

On Sep 16, 2006

My daughter was prescribed the epi pen jr at 19 months and at the time weighed 22lbs.

On Sep 16, 2006

My 2 year old is only 20 pounds and has an epi jr.

Patty

On Sep 16, 2006

Uh, I hate to sound negative but what's the alternative? I mean if she's going into anaphylactic shock what are you going to do? Let her die? Of course not. If it were me I would have the epi jr. on hand at all times. We had one from when R was a baby (how little I can't remember but then he was 9lb. 4 oz at birth and grew fast so he was well over weight by the time he got one prescribed.

Barb

On Sep 16, 2006

The alternative is basically an AnaKit-- a syringe and a vial of stabilized Epi. The upside is that the dose is correct. The obvious downside is having to DRAW THAT CORRECT DOSE YOURSELF [i]during a major reaction.[/i] Some people can probably do this just fine (I wasn't worried about being able to, for example, and I suspect the children of medical or veterinary professionals would be fine as well....BUT.) You have to consider the other people who care for your child.

Well, we actually debated this... because the more under the wt rec. they are, the more probable a severe adverse effect becomes. And it isn't a trivial side effect, though it is rare. (It can lead to a brain bleed.)

We felt that having an immediate treatment with less hesitation was worth that risk. We felt that the four minutes or so that could be wasted was too much. But it made us very careful NOT to administer one of those epipens for hives alone, I'll tell you.

HTH.

On Sep 16, 2006

My DD was about that weight when we were prescribed an epipen. In Canada, the epi-pen Jr is for people UP TO 15kg (about 33lbs) and in the US it is 33-66lbs...and it's the exact dosage. I still don't understand why it would be so different, but obviously someone deemed it to be safe for kids under 33lbs.

I'm sure I would manage if I HAD to in the moment, but I'm glad we have the epi-pen! A load off my mind.

On Sep 16, 2006

For us it was not an AnaKit. It was a vial of epi and a syringe. It does not take four mintues to draw it up. I would say 30 seconds is more like it. However, there is much more room for error if you are drawing it up yourself. I certainly would not want anything like that at school, but of course by then your child will weigh enough for epi or epi junior. Dey recommends the Jr for 33 pounds and up. The actual dose of epi if you are drawing it up is 1 mg per kg. 1 kg is 2.2 pounds. The jr has 15 mg of epi which would be exactly the right dose for 15 kg which is the same as 33 pounds. If your child is 18 pounds that is about 8 kilos, so an epi jr is twice as much epi as the correct dose. The decision is really based on whether in the moment you think you can draw the right dose. I figured with dd`s life depending on it, I would. Giving twice as much as the correct dose could kill her. Fortunately by the time she had her first anaphylactic reaction she was bigger and had the epi jr.

On Sep 16, 2006

Sorry Carefulmom-- didn't mean to imply I thought it would take me 3-5 min either... I think your estimate is correct.

However, I [i]really[/i] think this one depends on who is caring for the child. I was surprised, but even DH had a bit of a psychological block about using a syringe-- it's this whole "But I can't do that-- I'm not a doctor.... what if I do it wrong?"

For my Mom and MIL, I stand by my 4 min estimate. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/wink.gif[/img]

On Sep 16, 2006

Yes, when they don`t really weigh enough for an epi junior, it is a big catch 22. Do nothing, child can die. Get epi and a syringe and draw it up yourself, make a mistake, and child can die. Use epi junior when the child weighs so little that it is twice the correct dose, child can die. There is really no good option at that weight.

On Sep 21, 2006

I asked my PA dd's allergist how much my new baby had to weigh before I could use the epi jr on her. (I was getting ready to introduced solids and given our family history I wanted to know what my options were "just in case.") FWIW, he said he doesn't recommend the epi jr for anyone under 20 lbs.

On Sep 21, 2006

Our 14 month old son has PA and he was prescribed an epi jr. He is only 23 lbs.

sharon

On Sep 21, 2006

My DD was 16 months old and about 17 pounds when she was prescribed Epi Jr. Twelve days later, she had a grade 4 respiratory rxn and received one Epi Jr.

At the hospital she did not require additional epi but still needed two nebulizer treatments, oxygen, steroid shot and 5 days of oral steroids and antihistamines.

I realize that it was double the dose, but I credit it with saving my DD's life.

On Sep 23, 2006

thank you for all the comments

On Aug 6, 2007

my daughter is under 20 pounds and i worry about insect stings

On Aug 6, 2007

this is an old thread...but since it's raised....my youngest was given an Epi Jr prescritption at 6 weeks old(maybe 10lbs), when she reacted to regular formula with hives and facial swelling!! I never had to use it though(avoided milk like the plague)....but I had in just in case, and like others stated....what's the alternative(I woulnd't even think twice!)

------------------ Chanda(mother of 4) Sidney-8 1/2(beef and chocolate, grasses, molds, weeds, guinea pig, hamster & asthma) Jake-6 1/2(peanut, all tree nuts, seasame seeds, (avoiding all seeds&coconut)eggs, trees, grasses, weeds, molds, cats, dogs, guinea pig & eczema & asthma) Carson-4 (milk, tree nuts(avoiding peanuts and seeds)soy, egg, beef and pork, cats, dog, guinea pig, hamster, grass, mold, dust mite and EE) Savannah-1 1/2 (milk, beef and egg, dog(avoiding peanuts, tree nuts, strawberries, sesame seeds, green beans, peas and corn)

On Aug 7, 2007

For me I was put straight onto the nortmal epi (i was 7)

On Aug 7, 2007

I dont remember his weight, but DS was given a presciption for EpiPen Jr when he went to the allergist for the first time, 1 week before his 1 yr birthday.