MODEL RELEASED. Allergy advice. General practice doctor explaining the use of an emergency self- injecting syringe (lower right). The syringe (Epipen) administers a dose of the drug epinephrine, which treats the symptoms of severe allergic reactions. These reactions, also known as anaphylactic shock, can occur due to allergies to pets, food or even as a result of asthma. The symptoms may result in swelling of the throat, which in some instances may led to asphyxiation. The epipen is designed to be carried by allergy suffers and used in a emergency by injecting the drug into the thigh, even through cloths.