Texas Pharmacy Law: Expanding the Role of Pharmacists to Administer Epinephrine – Nurse Practitioner

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America reports that up to 30 percent of adults and 40 percent of children in the United States have allergies. Allergies occur when the body’s immune system overreacts to a substance because it interprets the substance as harmful. In response to a harmful substance (an allergen), the immune system makes antibodies called immunoglobulin E (IgE) which cause the traditional symptoms of an allergic reaction. Allergens can be anything that the body determines to be harmful including food, drugs, certain insects (such as those that sting, cockroaches, and dust mites), materials such as latex, mold, pets, pollen, or even exercise. Often allergies are not severe and cause symptoms that present as discomforts such as hives, runny nose, sneezing, or watery eyes. Anaphylaxis is the most severe form of an allergic reaction. The Texas Administrative Code defines anaphylaxis as “a sudden, severe, and potentially lifethreatening allergic reaction that occurs when a person is exposed to an allergen.”