Friday, February 17, 2006

Use Extra Care with Bee-Sting Injection

Suzy Cohen, Newsday (USA), 2/7/2006

My 12-year-old daughter is very allergic to bee stings. In fact, I was told that if she ever got stung again, she could die. Her doctor prescribed EpiPen, a medicine that I'm supposed to give her if she gets stung. He went over it briefly, but I would like your input. . .

EpiPen and its pediatric formula, EpiPen Junior, are injectable drugs intended to be self-administered during an emergency by people who experience life-threatening allergic reactions.

The drug is just an injectable form of epinephrine, which is made in the body and completely natural to human life.

During an allergic response, the amount of epinephrine in the body plummets, triggering a cascade of potentially fatal symptoms. . .

Anaphylactic reactions are different from typical allergies because symptoms include flushing, fainting, rash, rapid heartbeat, a drop in blood pressure, wheezing, vomiting, convulsions and a closing of the throat. . .

According to the manufacturer's instructions, EpiPen should be injected only into the muscle of the outer thigh. It should not be injected into a vein because this could cause a brain hemorrhage. . .

If you think the drug comes without risk, you're wrong. . .

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