Epipen

What is EpiPen?

Epipen is an emergency treatment for allergies made by Meridian Medical Technologies. It’s used to treat severe allergic reactions (anaphylactic shock, to use the official medical term). Anaphylactic shock occurs when the body is exposed to something that it is allergic to. To protect itself from the allergen (the nasty invader) the body releases chemicals into the bloodstream. The resulting symptoms can be pretty frightening and range from a raised rash to swelling of the lips and loss of consciousness. These serious symptoms of anaphylactic shock can occur very quickly.

Common allergies include nuts, bee stings, fish and some drugs such as penicillin. The allergic reaction can be severe and result in a swollen tongue, vomiting, shortness and breath and difficulty breathing.

EpiPen is used to inject a dose of adrenaline into the body through the thigh muscle. The adrenaline provides life-saving emergency treatment that allows time for medical help to arrive.

How does EpiPen work?

When the body encounters a substance which it perceives to be a threat, the immune system floods the body with chemicals. These chemicals cause your airways to narrow, blood pressure to drop and difficulty breathing. The adrenaline in EpiPen relaxes the muscles in the airways and helps to restore a normal heartbeat. This helps the body to gain control of breathing and vasodilation, helping to avoid your blood pressure dropping.

EpiPen is an immediate emergency medicine that will help to neutralise a severe allergic reaction until you can receive further treatment.

What doses of EpiPen are there?

Each EpiPen contains 0.3mg of adrenaline. This is enough adrenaline for a single adult dose. One dose is usually enough to get an allergic reaction (in an adult) under control. However, those with severe allergies may not see an improvement in symptoms after a single dose and will need to administer another 15 minutes after the first one. For this reason, it’s important to carry two pens at all times to ensure you have sufficient help on hand. Keeping a supply at home or at your workplace ensures that you never run out.

EpiPen is available in a junior dose that is suitable for children, but we do not offer this option at this time.

How to use EpiPen

You should fully familiarise yourself with how and when to use EpiPen so that in an emergency situation you can act quickly.

• If you can, lie down with your legs slightly elevated in order to keep your blood flowing.
• Remove the blue safety cap.
• Position EpiPen’s orange tip approximately 10cm away from the outer thigh – this can be done through clothing.
• Jab EpiPen firmly into the outer thigh at an angle of 90 degrees (listen for the helpful click that lets you know the adrenaline has been released).
• Hold the EpiPen in place for 3 seconds.
• Dial 999 for emergency help
• If after 5-15 minutes your symptoms haven’t subsided, administer another dose.

Using your EpiPen will give you, or someone with you, time to call for medical help.

How long does it take EpiPen to work?

EpiPen is designed to be an emergency treatment that gives you the time to seek medical help when you are experiencing a severe allergic reaction. EpiPen gets to work quickly because injecting the adrenaline into your muscle means that it can pass into your bloodstream quickly.

Most people start to feel their breathing become easier within seconds of using their EpiPen.

If symptoms don’t subside within 5-15 minutes, another dose should be administered.

What should I do if I make a mistake when using EpiPen?

Having a clear plan for using your EpiPen and running through it regularly is important. You should also make sure that your friends and family members know how to use your EpiPen so that they can help you in an emergency situation.

Being prepared and well trained means that you’ll be able to stay calm in an emergency situation, and this will help to minimise the effects of reduced breathing.

If you accidentally inject EpiPen when you don’t need it, it is important to seek medical advice straight away. Adrenaline can cause your blood pressure to rise sharply, and you will need to be monitored.

Accidental injection into the hands or fingers could result in a lack of blood supply to these areas.