How Does An EpiPen Work?

Epinephrine, or what is more popularly known as adrenaline, is a hormone that mainly affects the sympathetic nervous system. When there is an increase in adrenaline within your body, your heart beats faster, your blood vessels constrict and the air passages dilate. In the medical field, epinephrine is used to treat varied conditions like bleeding, cardiac arrest and allergic reactions. One of the most popular ways of injecting adrenaline to patients is through the use of an EpiPen.

An EpiPen is a needle-loaded device that is very much like a syringe. It contains a specified dosage of epinephrine and is administered either by a physician or by the patients themselves. Often, EpiPens are used to treat asthma, allergic reactions and anaphylaxis.

Do you have any allergies? If so, how does your body usually react when you get in contact with or consume any substance that you are allergic of?

Sneezing, coughing and itchiness are often manifestations of an allergic reaction. In some cases, you can also feel like you are having an asthma attack hence you find difficulty with breathing. But for some people, allergies can be as fatal as any injury. They may experience as deadly complications as low blood pressure and extreme swelling. This is called an anaphylactic shock. In such cases, the use of an EpiPen is most needed.

As a patient, you have to unscrew the EpiPen and strike it into your thigh at a ninety-degree angle. It is highly suggested that the EpiPen is struck into the thigh because the medicine travels faster from it throughout your body. Hold the EpiPen for about 10 seconds or at least until you have emptied its content into your thigh. You need to react very fast lest you want to be encumbered by your symptoms and eventually get your senses cut off.

In using an EpiPen, you have to be sure that your attack is already at its most difficult to cope with. You also have to make sure that even after your severe allergic reactions are already stopped you would still go and consult a doctor to continue the treatment either through oral medication or through the avoidance of allergens.

You need to always have EpiPens in your medicine cabinet but that does not mean you can use the drug anytime you want. Remember that epinephrine can be just as detrimental to your body when used indiscriminately.