Known brand names include Epipen, Adrenalin, Auvi-Q, and Symjepi.
The emergency treatment for anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction. It is injected into the outer thigh with an auto-injector such as EpiPen, and in the hospital an IV drip raises blood pressure in septic shock. It acts within minutes but wears off quickly, so emergency care is still needed.
Epinephrine, also called adrenaline, acts on both alpha and beta receptors throughout the body. On blood vessels, it tightens them and stops fluid leaking out, which brings blood pressure back up. On the airways, it relaxes the muscles so breathing gets easier, and it eases hives, itching, and swelling. It also makes the heart beat faster and squeeze harder, which adds to the rise in blood pressure.
Injected into a muscle or under the skin, it works quickly but does not last long, so symptoms can return and a second dose is sometimes needed. Given by IV, it raises blood pressure in under 5 minutes, and the effect wears off within 15 minutes. It also raises blood sugar by releasing stored sugar and holding back insulin. Its strong squeeze on blood vessels explains why a shot into a finger, hand, or foot can cut off blood flow there, and its push on the heart can bring on chest pain or abnormal rhythms in people with heart disease.
Epinephrine is the emergency treatment for anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction that can begin within minutes of contact with a trigger. Triggers include insect stings and bites, foods, medicines, and other allergens, and some reactions have no known cause or come on with exercise. It is meant to reverse the drop in blood pressure, tight airways, and swelling these reactions cause. In the hospital, it is also given by IV drip to raise blood pressure in adults whose blood pressure has dropped from septic shock, a body-wide infection that can lead to organ failure.
People at high risk, including those who have had anaphylaxis before, carry an auto-injector so it can be given right away, and children can use it with the strength chosen by body weight. The auto-injector goes only into the outer thigh, and the vials can be injected into a muscle, under the skin, or into a vein. After an auto-injector is used, the person still needs emergency medical care, and only a health care provider should give more than 2 doses for one reaction. The label lists no conditions that rule it out.
Anxiety, restlessness, shakiness, weakness, dizziness, sweating, a pounding heartbeat, paleness, nausea, and headache are common, especially in people with heart disease, high blood pressure, or an overactive thyroid. The label treats dangerous heart rhythms, chest pain, and sudden spikes in blood pressure that can cause bleeding in the brain as serious. It also warns about injecting it into the wrong place, which can cut off blood flow to the fingers, hands, or feet, and about rare serious infections at the injection site.