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Home > Drug Category > Allergy Medication > EpiPen and Equivalent

EpiPen Information

EpiPen (Epinephrine Auto-Injector) is a prescription medication used to treat severe allergic reactions to insect stings or bites, foods, drugs, and other allergens. Epinephrine is also used to treat exercise-induced anaphylaxis. The active ingredient in EpiPen is Epinephrine. Epinephrine belongs to a class of drugs known as bronchodilators. Epinephrine works quickly to improve breathing, stimulate the heart, raise blood pressure, get rid of hives, and reduce the swelling of the face, lips, and throat. As a result, this narrows the blood vessels and opens airways in the lungs. Anaphylaxis can be life-threatening and happens within minutes. If untreated, anaphylaxis can cause death.

EpiPen Side Effects

The most common side effects of EpiPen may include dizziness, feeling nervous or anxious, feeling short of breath, headache, nausea, vomiting, pale skin, sweating, and weakness or tremors. Call your doctor right away if you have any of the serious side effects, such as:
• No improvement in your condition after 20 minutes of administration;
• Pounding heart;
• Sudden body weakness;
• Uncontrollable shaking of a part of your body

EpiPen Precautions

Do not use EpiPen if you are allergic to Quinapril, HCTZ, or other ingredients in this medication. Before you start using this medication, tell your doctor about your medical history, including if you have asthma or breathing problems, heart problems such as high blood pressure, diabetes, thyroid problems, a history of depression, Parkinson’s disease, are pregnant or plan to become pregnant, are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. Tell your doctor about all your medications, including prescription, OTC, herbal supplements, and vitamins. There may be a drug interaction between EpiPen and other medications, such as linezolid, indapamide, disopyramide, pimozide, phenelzine, quinidine, and tranylcypromine. Epinephrine injection comes as a prefilled automatic injection device containing a solution (liquid) and in vials to inject intramuscularly (into the muscle) to treat life-threatening allergic reactions. The EpiPen auto-injector should be injected into the middle of your outer thigh (upper leg) through clothing if necessary. Massage the injection site for 10 seconds.

Do not inject into your veins, buttocks, fingers, toes, hands, or feet. You must hold the EpiPen auto-injector down firmly on the middle of the outer thigh (upper leg) for at least three seconds. If you do not hold it in place long enough, the auto-injector might not deliver the correct dose of epinephrine into your body. The effects of EpiPen may wear off after 10 or 20 minutes. If you accidentally inject this medicine into any place other than the middle of your outer thigh, go to the nearest emergency room right away. If you inject a young child, hold their leg firmly in place before and during the 3-second injection to prevent injuries. If your breathing does not get better within 20 minutes after using this medication, or if your breathing gets worse, get medical help right away. Store this medication at room temperature, away from moisture and heat. Keep it out of the reach of children.

Do I need a prescription to order EpiPen?

Yes, a prescription is required from your physician to order EpiPen.