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  Given the current security at airports, it is essential that people who carry epinephrine take a few precautions. We recomend the following steps:  
   
 
  • Anyone who carries EpiPens® should notify the airline well in advance of their departure date.
  • Once in the airport, you should remind the attendant at the check-in counter.
  • Ask your allergist or family doctor to provide a medical letter of explanation.
  • A draft of such a letter can be found below. If your doctor is writing their own, make sure they specify that the only recommended treatment for anaphylaxis is self-injected epinephrine, that it is a life-saving treatment and that it needs to be immediately available at all times.
  • Have the letter translated as necessary.
  • Wear a MedicAlert® identifier that mentions EpiPen® or epinephrine.
 
  sample letter:  
   
 

Date

To Whom it May Concern:

_________________ (Patient's full name) suffers from a life-threatening allergy to the following allergens: _______________________________________________________________________ In this medical condition (anaphylaxis) severe reactions can be unpredictable and follow exposure to even minute amounts of allergen. Life-saving injectable medication (epinephrine / EpiPen®) has been prescribed to _______________________ (Patient's name) by a licensed medical practitioner with the understanding that it will be immediately available at all times. If a reaction occurs, it is critical that the injection be given immediately in order to stop progression. Delayed treatment of such a reaction would be particularly hazardous mid-flight and could lead to a forced landing and, possibly, death. As immediate use of EpiPen® can be life saving, please allow _________________ (Patient's full name) to carry EpiPen®(s) on board the airplane.

Additional information may be obtained from ________________________ (Physician's Name) at ____________ (Phone) or ___________ (Fax)

Respectfully,


____________________________________________, M.D.

M.D. OFFICE STAMP