When to use an EpiPen:

• Sign of a severe allergic reaction (Anaphylaxis)
  • Food Medication
  • Insect bites
• Swelling, which can lead to difficulty breathing or swallowing
• Shortness of breath or wheezing
• Pain in your belly
• Chest tightness
• Dizziness
• Vomiting
• Confusion
• Severe hives or rash

Overreaction response can lead to inflammation (which can cut off breathing) and a widening of blood vessels (which can drop blood pressure to dangerous levels).

The medication works to constrict (narrow) dilated (widened) blood vessels to help your blood pressure rebound and bring down swelling. It also relaxes muscles in your lungs to open up airways and make breathing a bit easier.

• The needle on an auto-injector is designed to go through jeans or pants.
• The dosage is different between children and adults, but the delivery technique is exactly the same. Just jab the thigh and let the epinephrine release. Each auto-injector is filled with a prescribed amount of medication.
• It’s always a good idea to hold someone’s leg in place while inserting the injector and for three seconds afterward.
• A second dose can be administered if the first injection doesn’t reduce symptoms within five to 15 minutes and the reaction continues to worsen. (This is why auto-injectors typically come in packs of two.)
• Call 911 immediately if a reaction is bad enough to require an EpiPen.
• Prescriptions for epinephrine auto-injectors typically last a year and should be refilled before they expire.

How to use an EpiPen:

• Remove the EpiPen from its carrier tube.
• Hold the EpiPen with the orange tip ­(where the needle is) pointing downward and the blue safety cap pointing up. Remember this phrase: Blue to the sky, orange to the thigh.
• Remove the blue safety cap. Pull straight up on it. Do not bend or twist it.
• Place the orange tip against the middle of the outer thigh. Using a slight swing, jab the auto-injector into the thigh until you hear the device click.
• Hold the EpiPen firmly in place for three seconds. Count slowly.