EpiPen: It Could Save Your Life

An EpiPen (or Epi-Pen) is designed to provide a self-administered emergency treatment for anaphylactic shock. You must have a prescription to purchase one.

How it Works

If you experience a life-threatening allergic reaction from a bee sting (or any other cause), prompt treatment is crucial. Survival may depend upon receiving treatment within minutes. If you can’t get to a doctor quickly, though, you can treat yourself by simply removing a cap and safety release, and jabbing the device against your thigh.

The force of jabbing the device against your thigh causes a dose of epinephrine to be injected into your bloodstream automatically using an auto-injector. You do not have to depress a syringe, or meter the amount of medicine being injected. The syringe automatically injects the proper amount of epinephrine.