A New Treatment for Severe Allergic Reactions — Without the Needle

Dr. MichaelBlaiss, an allergist at the Medical College of Georgia, was often surprised by how hesitant his patients were to use their auto-injectors, syringe-like devices like the EpiPen that deliver a drug needed to head off potentially fatal allergic reactions.

Some patients called his office, on the verge of shock, to double-check that it was necessary to give themselves the shot. Others told him they would rather wait in the emergency room parking lot to “see what happens.”

Children suffering dangerous reactions sometimes ran away from their parents, terrified of the needle. One Tom-and-Jerry-like chase ended with a father getting mistakenly injected, Dr. Blaiss recalled.

A new device recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration may help quell some of the anxiety. The device, Neffy, administers epinephrine, the drug in the EpiPen, through a nasal spray rather than a needle.

“We have needed this for so long,” Dr. Blaiss said. “I truly believe it will save lives.”

Patient advocates and allergists, who regularly see the consequences of needle aversion, have been awaiting an auto-injector alternative for years. Among the general population, this fear is relatively common — most children and up to 30 percent of young adults are afraid of needles, according to one systematic review.

Ilana Golant, founder and chief executive of the Food Allergy Fund, said she knew parents who had been so nervous to give the shot that they had missed the window to stave off a serious reaction, landing their child in the hospital.