Karen Oland said: > I have an Epipen and have never used it. Then it may be well past its expiration date. Every Epi-pen has an expiration date stamped on it. None have a useful lifespan of more than a year or two. Unless one is far from the nearest doctor, I'd suggest that keeping car keys in the ignition and a bottle of Benadryl in the glove compartment will do more good in a real emergency than an Epi-pen. If I had a visitor get stung and react badly, "having an Epi-Pen" would mean I'd have to: a) Run to the house b) Dodge the cat lounging in the doorway c) Leap over/around the dogs, who view even a return from a mere 5-minute absence as grounds for a full-scale reunion celebration d) Run to the bathroom, throw open the medicine cabinet, dodge an entire alphabet of falling vitamin bottles, grab the Epi-pen... no, wait a second... that's NOT the Epi-pen, its one of those mascara things... here it is! Nope, that's an eyebrow thing... ...In the Kitchen...! e) Run to the kitchen, bang shin against 5-gallon pail of high-gluten stone-ground flour left by wife in the middle of the floor, throw open fridge door, sending several near-empty condiment bottles on sub-orbital trajectories, start emptying fridge looking for the elusive Epi-pen, which is sure to have worked its way behind everything, find the Epi-pen (no, that's a ball-point pen - must have fallen out of my pocket the last time I leaned over the vegetable crisper drawer) ...hey, maybe in the FREEZER... f) Open freezer, yell as a 15-pound rack of lamb falls out and hits my left foot, but find the Epi-pen taped to inside of freezer door with bright red tape, helpfully labeled "Epi-Pen" with bold letters in handwriting that looks like... mine. g) Reverse route back to victim, limping while I run. Note that the canine celebration is now more intense, as they see that you are leaving, and suspect a potential opportunity for a RIDE!! in the CAR!!!! Evasive maneuvers are again required. h) By now, if the victim really needed an Epi-pen at all, he likely can't breathe much, and is swelling faster than the US budget deficit. At this point, one will realize that the ballpoint pen you came across may be of more practical value than the Epi-pen, because you are about to perform your first-ever emergency tracheotomy to keep the victim breathing.... In the same elapsed time, someone with an understanding of how much easier it is to pay a speeding ticket than to pay last respects at someone's funeral could have been halfway to a real medical professional, and the victim could have swallowed half a dozen Benadryl from the bottle in the glove compartment. And I'd forget about trying to call 911 yourself. Let someone else do that. Driving 90 in a 45mph zone while dialing 911 on your cellphone is a rare skill in itself, as is trying to explain the problem to the emergency operator over the sound of an engine doing 4500 rpm: You: "Anaphylaxis..." 911: "Anna fell on axes?" You: "No, I said anaphylactic shock!" 911: "Anna fell on her back and got shocked?" You: "Anaphylactic shock means 'allergic' " 911: "Anna has been shot by some mean old jerk?" You: "No, my friend is venom-allergic and cold, Miss..." 911: "Your friend has been allergic to Anna Nicole Smith?" ...so just focus on getting to someone who can deal with the problem without hitting a tree along the way. jim