There are 3 types of AUVI-Q auto-injectors. The first one, which is white and purple, has 0.1 milligrams of epinephrine and is for infants and toddlers weighing 16.5 to 33lbs. The next step up is for children weighing 33 to 66lbs, contains 0.15milligrams of the drug, and has a light blue casing. Finally, the red cased auto-injector is for anyone weighing 66lbs or more and contains a much higher 0.3 milligrams of the medicine. If you have the white and purple unit and are injecting an infant or toddler, you should hold the leg firmly in place while administering an injection.
All units come equipped with a set of voice instructions, so the unit will literally tell you what you need to do. Should this part of the unit malfunction however, the unit will still work as an auto-injector, meaning you can still use it to inject the drug. To start using the unit, pull off the bottom part of the case, which will activate the instructions. Then it will tell you to pull the red safety guard off of the bottom of the unit, which exposes the site where the needle will come out. After that, put the same end, which is black, against the outer thigh and push in firmly. Once in place, it will countdown for two seconds and should not be moved until you hear it say “injection complete”. After that, you can remove the unit from the leg.
When administering AUVI-Q to an infant or toddler, their leg should be held firmly in place. This stops them from flailing their legs about, should they become scared. However, if they are having a serious allergic reaction then the medicine must be administered, otherwise, the reaction could prove to be fatal. Always follow instructions to make sure that nothing goes wrong.
For more information and to take one of our Anaphylaxis video online courses see www.proanaphylaxis.co.uk