well khai it beats not breathing ! seriously, a "shot" is just a way to get needed medication into the circulation quicker. people with acute allegies often carry an "epi-pen" with with them wherever they go, so they can quickly self administer a shot if they come in contact with their allergan - such as a bee sting. the shot remains effective over time in this use. your sister may be one such person, in the future.

FWIW, a friend of mine, a golf addict, has been rushed to the hospital 5 or 6 times for bee stings. He carries a kit with him, but the last time he was stung he went down almost immediately according to him. He gets adrenaline shots every time they take him in. He's 5'10", 140 lbs and smokes like a forest fire. I'm not a doctor, but just what happens if you get "too many" adrenaline shots? Also, as he gets older his reaction to these stings has gotten worse. I would have thought the opposite would be true....

-Robert

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"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." ~Anne Frank

As far as I know I have never heard anything about an upper limit on how many shots of epinephrine (adrenaline) you can have. It is the standard protocol when a person has a hypersensitivity reaction (allergic) If your sister has had such a reaction she should be carrying around an epi-pen (prescribed) and go to an allergist to find out the cause. Epinephrine is not a chronic sort of treatment but an emergency treatment... so that is what you might be thinking about. Adrenaline should be used very carefully if she is diabetic, on any antidepressant, possibly pregnant, etc. etc. there are a lot of these.

The best thing to do is to make sure that the physicians know everything you can telll them everytime you go into the hospital. If they don't know about your past medical history than there is no way that they can take it into account.

My advice is to go to your primary care doctor, talk about your concerns, and see an allergist.

caveat: I am a medical student

THere is no such thing as only being able to get three Epinephrine shots. DOn't worry about that. Do worry about finding out what is causing the allergic reaction.

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Quid quid latine dictum sit altum videtur
(That which is said in Latin sounds profound)

Probably the "three shot rule" you're referring to is intra-articular steroid injections. I'd only give someone 3 total in the same joint due to the risk of osteoporosis, etc.

Epi you can get everyday if you want- it works better than coffee.

I suppose I should have said that she normally does carry an epi-pen, but this happenned at the airport, so they just called a medic who in turn rushed them to the hospital. Her face swelled up like nothing you've ever seen, but her throat didn't close, and she didn't get any of the inner ear sensations she normally does either. She has an appointment with her MD and is seeking a referral to see an allergist. It's weird because she didn't eat anything she wouldn't normally.

I however, being an overly protective brother, had to know more about the "3 shot rule". Thanks for setting me straight.

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<If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough>
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