At 12:33 PM 7/10/96 +0100, you wrote:
>After several years of bee stings, I recently suffered a sudden anaphylactic
>reaction to bee venom from just one sting - in the neck.
 
 
< .... SNIP ..... >
 
 
>One must act prudently not giving an Epipen injection whenever
>a small local swelling occurs, but one will rather quickly know
>when a sting reaction is getting out of hand, and Epipen is the
>single treatment of choice for this situation.
 
This implies that we should keep a shot of Epipen with us all the time and
learn how to use it.
How long dose Epipen last if not used?  Many drugs have a definite "use by"
date.
If you don't use them before then, you have to throw them out & get a fresh
supply (just in case).
 
Have you tried injecting your self lately(or any body else)?  (I presume
most readers here are not into the fashionable drugs)
 
A lot of people find this very difficult.  It sounds simple enough when you
just about it but when push comes to shove it's not so simple. If you ever
need to use this stuff, you will have to be quick, cool, calm & collected.
Murphy's law also says that you will be on your own when you need it.
 
For defense against chemical warfare, soldiers are issued with a spring
loaded dose of stuff.  They can't be trusted to use a normal syringe when
they need to.  To inject themselves they just slap this device against their
thigh, and it shoots them with a dose through all the clothing.
 
If you get this stuff for your own use, make sure you get a good delivery
system that you know you can use.  Try a few trial does of harmless fluids
to make sure you can handle it.
Regards
 
Chris Allen