Epinephrine & Carry Complacency

(Updated February 2026)

Winter break. New Hampshire. A family ski trip. We were capping off a sunny day on the slopes with dinner at a restaurant near our hotel.

“Mom, I think there was egg in my dessert. I need Benadryl. Now. I’m afraid.” My son was ghostly pale and his mouth was itching. He revisited his dinner. Violently. On the side of the road...

...I was afraid.

My ANA egg allergic college sophomore had just polished off the rare dessert treat at the restaurant at the end of what had otherwise been a great meal. We’d trusted the server to read an ingredients label correctly and he got it wrong. He overlooked ‘egg’...

...Misplaced trust. Our mistake.

Our son hadn't taken his epinephrine auto-injector to the restaurant that night.  It had been too bulky to fit in his jeans so we were unprepared for the rapid downward spiral of the allergic reaction. It had been so long since he’d made a food allergy misstep and he'd never had to use his epinephrine before...

...We’d become complacent, unprepared for an ANA emergency. Another mistake.

My son's fear was palpable. The fear was on many levels. With the epinephrine back at the hotel -- would we get to it in time? The thought of the bulky shot with the big needle was scary -- would it hurt? A lot? Would we use the device correctly? Or fumble it because our hands were shaking, wasting the precious dose? We only had one with us. Would we make it to the ER?...

...The fear felt paralyzing.

And yes. We did get to the epinephrine in time. We did inject it without a problem. My son reported it wasn't "as bad as he thought it would be." We did get to the ER and my son was well taken care of with all physcial symptoms resolving quickly, though the mental fallout from the scare was another story.

Lessons Learned

Auto-injectors and even the nasal spray neffy can be bulky and inconvenient to carry. But they're the only medication that stops anaphylaxis. Outcomes are better if epinephrine is administered quickly.

Never be complacent about carrying your epinephrine. Carry TWO doses.

Always keep them within easy reach.

You may need them. You just never know.

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About the Author: Gayle Rigione is CEO and Co-founder of Allergy Force, the food allergy app. She’s also an allergy mom. She’s lived the heart stopping moments when her son ate the wrong thing, second guessed reactions and spent the night in the ER. These experiences inspire her to create tools for people with food allergies that make life safer, easier. Whatever you do, do it with a full heart. Audentes Fortuna Iuvat

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Photo Credit: Thank you to Wix for use of the post image