People with a severe allergy should know how to inject epinephrine, as should their family members and people they spend time with regularly.Īsk your allergist or immunologist to show you and your loved ones how to inject epinephrine. The medicine is injected into muscles in the thigh during an anaphylactic reaction. How Epinephrine WorksĮpinephrine helps reverse life-threatening symptoms by relaxing the muscles in the airways and tightening the blood vessels. If you're not sure how serious your allergies are, your doctor can take a thorough medical history and perform blood and skin tests to find this out.

Are allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, fish, or shellfish.

Have had a previous anaphylactic reaction.

Carrying one is especially important if you: Prescribed by your doctor, it comes as a single dose in an auto-injector (such as an EpiPen).Īllergists recommend carrying an epinephrine auto-injector for serious allergies of almost any kind. It can be caused by insect bites or stings, foods, medications, latex, and many other triggers, depending on a person's sensitivities.Įpinephrine is the first-response treatment for anaphylaxis.

To treat a life-threatening condition called anaphylaxisĪnaphylaxis is a severe allergic reaction characterized by a drop in blood pressure and narrowing/swelling of the airways.As a bronchodilator and antispasmodic in bronchial asthma.As a vasoconstrictor (medication to increase blood pressure in cases of shock).To stimulate the heart during a cardiac arrest.Synthetic epinephrine is also used as a medication for the following: In different types of adrenal tumors, other hormones are over-produced, including cortisol, aldosterone, and androgens. This over-secretion of epinephrine can lead to a dangerous and severe elevation in blood pressure.

In the case of pheochromocytoma, the hormones produced are epinephrine and noradrenaline. The following health conditions are linked to epinephrine levels:Īddison's disease is a severe or total deficiency of the hormones made by the adrenal glands, including epinephrine, cortisol, and aldosterone.Īdrenal tumors, some called pheochromocytoma, can cause too much adrenal hormones to be produced.

Where is adrenaline located