A medical student has gone viral detailing the correct way to use an EpiPen, after watching a video of a clueless girl stabbing herself in the finger while trying to administer the drug to a friend.
Mutahir Farhan, based in Los Angeles, where he works as a medical student at a local hospital, went to TikTok to share a step-by-step guide to epinephrine autoinjectors, explaining exactly how they should be treated. to use and what you should use. will be performed once the injection is performed.
“It struck me that a lot of people don’t know how to use an EpiPen and it’s okay because I’ll show you in this video how to use an EpiPen,” he says at the beginning of his clip: after showing footage of a young woman’s video which was nailed to the finger while trying to use the autoinjector.
Joking that the video was the perfect demonstration of how to “not use an EpiPen,” Farhan shared his own experience on how to properly manage the jab.
Tips & Warnings A medical student has gone viral after teaching TikTok users to use an EpiPen, which administers life-saving drugs to those suffering from severe allergic reactions
Warning: Mutahir Farhan shared his tutorial after watching a video of a young woman accidentally stabbing herself in the hand with an EpiPen while trying to hit a sick friend.
‘[An EpiPen] it is used for people who have severe food or environmental allergies, “he explains, pointing to a picture of one of the autoinjectors, which is given a single dose of epinephrine, a potentially life-saving drug used to treat symptoms. of severe allergic reactions.
“It’s used to prevent people from getting into anaphylactic shock, which can actually kill you,” he continued.
Farhan pointed out that the most important thing to know about using an EpiPen is at which end the needle is, which is exactly where the viral video girl got it wrong.
“The way it works is that there’s a needle in this tube right here,” the medical student continues as he points toward the end of the EpiPen that has an orange tip.
“You have to remember that the orange tip is where the needle comes out. Otherwise, you’ll end up stabbing yourself with epinephrine like that girl in this video.
He then explains exactly that you should nail someone with EpiPen, using a diagram of the human body and pointing to the outside of the thigh.
“You’re going to use that needle to stab someone here on the outside of the thigh and deliver the adrenaline,” he said.
According to the official EpiPen website, the needle should be left on the thigh for three seconds before removing it; the company also notes that the tool must simply be administered with reasonable force for the drug to be released.
‘Turn and push the button [EpiPen] until “click”. The click indicates that the injection has started, “he explains in his online guide.
However, once the injection is given, Fahran warns that the patient should seek professional help from an emergency physician to make sure it is clear.
“The most important thing after stabbing someone with EpiPen is to call 911 or go to the emergency room because we can make sure they’re actually okay and they’re okay,” he says.
Pointer: The Los Angeles-based medical student noted that the most important thing to remember when using an EpiPen is that the needle is at the end with the orange tip
How not to: Fahran pointed out that the young woman who stabbed herself was holding the EpiPen upside down, with the end of the orange needle pointing at her own finger.
He then explained that the Epipen should be stabbed in the outside of the thigh, warning that patients should seek professional medical help in the emergency room after it has been administered.
Fahran’s video tutorial has caused a stir in TikTok, where it has been viewed more than 3.2 million times, while accumulating thousands of comments, many of which came from grateful users who thanked him for the demonstration, all and admit that they had not done so before. known the correct way to use the medical device.
“I never knew how to use it,” a user named Amanda said in a comment. ‘It’s good to know.’
One teacher intervened to say that he had never been given any training on how to use an EpiPen, even though several children at his school had known allergies to nuts, and wrote: “I have been teaching substitute and teaching for 25 years. i have never trained on how to use an EpiPen!
“Still, 203 kids in every class are allergic to peanuts!”
Other TikTok users shared their own simple rule for remembering which end of the Epipen contains the needle, stating, “White / blue in the sky, orange in the thigh.”
Some added that they were given this helpful advice during health classes, and several called the girl in the original video for “not listening to her teachers.”
Step-by-Step: The EpiPen website also includes a step-by-step guide that states that the auto-injector must be left in the thigh for three seconds before the drug can be released.
Some pointed out that there are instructions next to the EpiPen, although they admitted that it could be difficult to read them in times of great stress or panic.
Several users questioned what happens if a person accidentally injects an EpiPen, asking if the girl in the first viral video should have asked for medical treatment.
Although Fahran did not immediately answer the questions, several people advised that anyone who accidentally injected epinephrine should seek help from a doctor in case they had a bad reaction.
“You have to go to the emergency room, a dose of epic may increase [heart] rate [and] dilate the pupils and [you] it may not respond well, ”one person warned.
There are no updated figures indicating exactly how many people in the United States currently have a prescription for EpiPen, but in 2016, the Wall Street Journal reported that an estimated 3.6 million Americans had been prescribed a single year.
These figures came in a national outrage after pharmaceutical company Mylan, which produces EpiPen, increased the cost of the medical device by more than 500 percent, raising the price of $ 100 per pack from two to $ 608.