The Role of Epinephrine

Epinephrine is the first-line therapy for the treatment of an allergic emergency and is the drug product found in the EpiPen^® and EpiPen Jr^® Auto-Injectors (0.3 and 0.15 mg epinephrine). During an allergic emergency, epinephrine quickly begins working to reverse symptoms of an allergic emergency by constricting blood vessels to increase blood pressure, relaxing smooth muscles in the lungs to reduce wheezing to improve breathing, stimulating the heart (increasing heart rate), and working to reduce hives as well as swelling that may occur around the face and lips.

Other Medications

Epinephrine is the primary treatment for allergic emergencies.  Other medications should not be used in place of your EpiPen Auto-Injector.

Your health care professional may recommend other medications such as the antihistamine Benadryl^® (diphenhydramine HCl) or steroids, which can be used after an EpiPen Auto-Injector for the management of symptoms of the allergic reaction. However, antihistamines or steroids should NOT replace EpiPen Auto-Injector during an allergic emergency.

 

Benadryl^® is a registered trademark of McNeil-PPC, Inc.