Cost of EpiPens constant stress
Eliza Pryor just wants to be a normal 10-year-old, but her anaphylactic allergy to peanuts makes everything more difficult.
“She is 10 years old and has never had a sleepover at a friend’s house,” said her mother, Carlene.
“Even birthday parties are an ordeal. Each time we have to explain to the parents her allergies and what to do and how to be careful.”
Eliza’s one major reaction was when she was 1 year old, after she shared a drink bottle with somebody who had just eaten a peanut-butter sandwich.
At the time her family were not aware of the extent of the allergy, and had not been advised to carry an EpiPen.
Pryor gave her daughter antihistamines, which kept the swelling at bay enough to get her to hospital.
“Through vigilance she has not had contact with peanuts since, but it’s a daily anxiety.”
Ever since then the family had been carrying EpiPens as part of an emergency kit for Eliza, but the annual cost was a constant stress on the family.
“The last time I bought one, an EpiPen Jr, from our GP about five years ago it cost $160.
“We could only buy one, so I had to drop it to the school office and pick it up again every day.
“Then I started importing them from the United Kingdom, where I could get two for about $145, however that’s still expensive for us and I find the process stressful each year.
Lowering the cost of EpiPens, or alternative generic adrenaline auto-injector, would be “incredible”, Pryor said.
The last time I bought one, an EpiPen Jr, from our GP about five years ago it cost $160. Eliza’s mum, Carlene