In the 1970s, a new type of solution to reversing severe allergic reactions was introduced. Invented by Sheldon Kaplan and approved for marketing by the Food and Drug Administration in 1987, the EpiPen®, or epinephrine injection, has literally been a lifesaver.
Used to treat anaphylaxis — a severe, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction — the EpiPen® is prescribed to more than 3 million people in the United States alone. Anaphylaxis can occur within seconds or minutes of exposure to something you’re allergic to, such as peanuts or bee stings.
Before its invention, people carried cumbersome kits that were often conveniently left behind, leading to many preventable deaths. Thus the EpiPen® was born with the help of a father whose daughter was allergic to bees.
But how does it work? I asked Carolyn R. Word, M.D., of Charleston Allergy & Asthma, to share her expertise on allergic reactions and why the EpiPen® is such an important tool.
“There’s a large spectrum for allergic reactions. Symptoms can be mild, a few hives here or there, to very severe, where there’s respiratory distress and throat closure and hives all…
