Carrying neffy at school and camp (vs an EpiPen)

The only epinephrine that helps is the one that is there when a reaction starts. For years that meant convincing kids to keep an auto-injector in a waist pack they hated. Carrying neffy at school or camp changes the size of the problem, but not the rules: two doses, close by, protected from heat and cold, with an adult who knows what to do.

neffy vs EpiPen: what changes when you carry them

• Size. neffy is a small nasal spray, so it fits places an auto-injector doesn't, like a wrist band or a small pocket. Small also means easy to lose in the bottom of a backpack.
• How many. Carry two of either. neffy's maker advises carrying at least two in case a second dose is needed, and EpiPen is sold in pairs for the same reason.
• Heat. The Canadian product monograph says neffy is stored at 15 to 30°C, with excursions up to 50°C permitted. EpiPen's US labelling says 20 to 25°C, with brief excursions from 15 to 30°C. Check the leaflet in your own package for the range it states.
• Cold. neffy freezes below -15°C and won't deliver epinephrine while frozen. EpiPen shouldn't be kept in a fridge or a car's glove box, or exposed to extreme heat or cold.
• Who it suits. In Canada, neffy 2 mg is approved for people who weigh 30 kg or more. EpiPen Jr (0.15 mg) is for roughly 15 to 30 kg, and EpiPen (0.3 mg) for 30 kg and over. Which device your child carries is your allergist's call.

Carrying neffy at school: the self-carry rules

In Canada, school anaphylaxis rules are set province by province. Ontario's Sabrina's Law requires every school board to have an anaphylaxis policy and every principal to make an individual plan for each student at risk. Alberta has the Protection of Students with Life-Threatening Allergies Act, British Columbia has its Anaphylaxis Protection Order, and Newfoundland and Labrador has Guidelines for Anaphylaxis Management in Schools. Food Allergy Canada keeps the full list. We cover the rules in more detail in EpiPen at school in Canada.

In the US, schools usually work from an individual health plan, often alongside a 504 plan, and districts have their own forms for students who carry their own epinephrine.

Wherever you are, ask the school three questions before the first day:

1. Can my child carry their own epinephrine, and what form do you need signed?
2. Where is the second dose kept, and who can reach it?
3. Who on staff has been shown how to use a nasal spray, not just an auto-injector?

Summer camp: heat, water and long days away

Camp is where carrying plans fall apart. Bags sit in the sun on the dock, kids swap shorts for swimsuits, and counsellors change every week.

• Keep it out of the sun. A backpack on a hot dock or bus seat can pass the label's upper limit faster than you'd think. Shade and an insulated case slow that down.
• Plan for the lake. Decide where the epinephrine stays while your child swims, and who holds it.
• Brief the counsellor, not just the office. The person standing beside your child is the one who has to act. Our guide to explaining neffy to a babysitter or teacher works for counsellors too.
• Send the plan with the bag. A signed emergency plan in the camp office doesn't help on an overnight hike.

Where kids actually keep it

Pockets fail. Athletic shorts and leggings either have no pocket or one that empties on the first slide. Backpacks work until the bag gets left in a cubby. What works is whatever stays on the child without them thinking about it.

The ResQBand Wrist Band carries a single-dose nasal spray, the Tap Card and the tracker on the wrist. It fits most children over five, and it is sweat-resistant and machine-washable. A window shows the Tap Card, so a helper taps it without opening anything. The second neffy rides in the backpack. Auto-injectors ride better in the ResQBand Thermal Pack, which fits two auto-injectors or a 2-pack of nasal spray.

A checklist before the first day

• Two doses, both in date.
• A signed emergency plan, with a copy in the bag.
• The school or camp's self-carry form, signed.
• A two-minute briefing for the teacher or counsellor.
• A plan for hot days, cold days and swimming.
• A card on the bag or wrist that a helper can tap for the steps.

Where ResQBand fits

The black Tap Card is printed "Spray into nose" for neffy, and the red card "Use immediately" for an auto-injector. Tapped with most phones, it opens your child's emergency page: use the epinephrine now, then call 911, with the maker's instructions one press away and a button the helper can press to alert you by text with their location. For the camp nurse, you can make a read-only share link with your child's allergies, medication and what to do. It stays up to date, prints cleanly and can be turned off when camp ends.

The Forget-Me-Not Epi Tracker fits the Wrist Band pocket or clips inside the Thermal Pack. On iPhone and on Android phones that support left-behind alerts, it pings your phone when you walk away without it.

School and camp rules change. Check your board's or camp's current policy, follow your child's emergency plan, and in an emergency call 911.