Did you know that you can use an epi-pen device more than once? That's right! Find out these quick techniques and get more use out of your pen. You never know when it could come in handy.

Step 1.) Loosening the shell:
The first dose has already been administered (and your) clinical judgement (says) you need to administer another dose.
You can use a knife (or) what you have on hand to loosen/pry the four corners around the core. You are loosening the transparent case from the white core for the next step.

Step 2.)   Pulling the white core out of the transparent sheathe:
Now that the outside is loosened, pulling the internal parts of the Epi-pen out will be easier. When on its way out, the spring may cause the white core you’re grabbing to spring out. After the spring comes out, the only thing left inside should be the syringe of epi and it’s needle.

Step 3.)   Identify and prepare needle and syringe:
You can see for yourself how many doses are left.  It’s important to note that the needle is covered in a gray sheathe. You will want to remove the gray sheathe carefully.

Step 4.)  Administering a dose:
The plunger should come already pushed down to the stopper due to the initial dose given to the patient. Point the needle up in the air and draw air into the needle until the rubber part of the plunger is near the back of the vial that holds the epinephrine. Once you have air drawn in to the syringe, you will administer the second intramuscular dose to the patient.

You need to draw the air in, in order to push more epinephrine out. This can be repeated 3-4 more times depending on how you measure it.

Pretty simple! In no time and with a few simple tricks, you can get so much more out of your epi-pen. Again, it's important to remember to be careful and that its only use is to save someone from succumbing to a severe allergic reaction.

For more about this hack, check out Crisis Application Group.

Featured Image via Crisis Application Group