I just saw a tiktok doctor say that epinepherine is $2 a dose but an epipen is $700 and because someone in the midst of anaphylaxis can't exactly measure out a dose this is why big pharma has us in its pocket. Not a single peep though about the existence of alternative auto injectors.
I am not in any way defending the cost of epipens. I am saying I've never owned one because my insurance wouldn't cover it and there's a generic auto injector now that has slightly different instructions but is 0-10 with insurance.
And the thing about epipens is, if everything goes as planned you will never use it. So they kind of need to be cheap because it's an easy thing to be like "oh yeah I don't raelly need it" if it's 700 bucks. I got mine because my allergies are progressing (lucky me)
I went from itchy mouth and eczema to full face swelling (which is why I don't do silly things like poke the avocados out of sushi now before eating) and IDK man I just don't want surprise anaphylaxis. But if it was 700 bucks maybe I'd revisit that decision (Why yes I need new epipens).
ALSO: an expired epipen is better than no epipen. The epinephrine just gets weaker. So if have a reaction and you're like well this epipen is expired USE IT
And something I learned in a wilderness first aid course - epipens have an additional dose that is not auto-inject. You need to (very carefully!) open the tube and then inject manually.
