Epinephrine
Epinephrine is an injected medicine used to treat severe allergic reactions, breathing problems, and cardiac arrest.
Epinephrine:
- Narrows the blood vessels, which raises blood pressure. This may prevent the severe low blood pressure that occurs during a severe allergic reaction.
- Stops leakage of fluids from blood vessels into body tissues.
- Relaxes the muscles of the respiratory tract, relieving wheezing and breathing difficulty.
- Increases the heart rate.
A severe or fatal stroke, heart irregularity, or heart attack can occur if the wrong dose of epinephrine is mistakenly injected into a blood vessel or if an overdose is given.
What happens after you give yourself an epinephrine shot?
You should feel the effects of the medicine almost right away. These may include a rapid heartbeat and nervousness as well as improved breathing. The benefits of the shot usually last 10 to 20 minutes.
The shot does not replace the need to be seen by a doctor. After giving yourself a shot, seek emergency care. Symptoms of a severe allergic reaction can return or get worse after an epinephrine shot.
In some severe cases, you may need to give a second shot. Your doctor will explain when a second shot is needed. Make sure you understand, and ask questions if you are not sure. Too much epinephrine can cause serious side effects, such as trouble breathing.
How to Give Yourself an Epinephrine Shot
Why should you keep your epinephrine nearby at all times?
If you have had a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) in the past, you know how frightening it can be. Symptoms of breathing problems, itching, belly pain, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea, and swelling can come on quickly and become life-threatening. Giving yourself an epinephrine shot can slow down or stop an allergic reaction. That's why it is important to have epinephrine with you at all times and to know the right way to use it. It could save your life someday.
How to give an epinephrine shot to a child
1. Grasp the epinephrine shot injector in one fist with the tip pointing down. Be sure you know which end of the injector is the tip and which end is the top. Do not touch the tip.
2. With your other hand, pull off the cap.
3. Give the injection.
- Hold your child's leg firmly with one hand, and hold the injector tip close to your child's thigh.
- Jab the tip firmly into your child's thigh. Jab through clothing if you must, but bare skin is best. The injector tip should go straight into the skin, at a 90-degree angle to the thigh.
- Keep the injector tip in your child's thigh for 10 seconds. The injection is then complete. It is normal for most of the liquid to be left in the injector. Do not try to inject the remaining fluid.
- Remove the injector, and place your hand on the area where the medicine entered the skin. Rub the area for about 10 seconds.
4. Put the used injector—needle-first—back into its storage tube. Do not bend the needle. Screw on the cap of the storage tube.
Take your child to the emergency room, and bring the used injector with you.
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