Allergic Reaction to Epi?

That's how the call came in. I was a bit dubious as I was fairly sure most people can't have an allergic reaction to an endogenous chemical. Turned out that the pt's symptoms overlapped perfectly with the side-effect list for epinephrine.

Why take the Epi? Here, I blame the person who prescribed Epi for this patient and did not explain how and when to use it. The pt had a bee sting, there was a localized reaction, and 24 hours later (!) decided to use the Epi to treat the localized swelling! As you can guess, the Epi made her feel horrible. I felt bad for her as she was scared and embarrassed. I am quite sure she'll think twice before she zaps herself with the Epi pen again.