What is an "EpiPen"?

What is an "EpiPen"?

Harold Kaiser (Practicing Allergist and Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of Minnesota Medical School) gives expert video advice on: What kind of medications are used to treat allergies?; Does using an EpiPen hurt? and more...

An "EpiPen" looks like a ballpoint pen except it has got pre-filled syringe with some epinephrine, which is the chemical name for adrenaline, and a small needle. It's also self-injecting. So if you take the EpiPen and hit yourself anywhere, like on the thigh, with four lbs of pressure (which is not very much or here or there), then the needle will come out and you will give yourself a little shot of adrenaline. If you are having allergic reaction, the adrenaline is the first line of therapy for that. And this obviates the patient who can't give themselves a shot. Most of us have trouble giving ourselves a shot. It's a very nice device and anyone who is at risk of having a severe allergic reaction, an anyphalactic reaction to a stinging insect, or to a peanut or the like, should have an EpiPen available to them.