Last updated February 2024.
An emergency injection can be a life saver.
You should have an emergency injection kit and learn when and how to use it. As a generalisation it will consist of 100mg Hydrocortisone Sodium Phosphate in a small glass vial and a syringe. The Hydrocortisone may be made up and in a vial ready to break open and use or it may be a mixture of Solucortef Powder and some sterile water to mix and then inject.
Both of these are demonstrated in this very useful short video - put together by the Endocrinology Department at Liverpool University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
You should try and ensure that a close family member or work colleague is trained in how to use the injection.
It should be used if you start going into adrenal crisis or in the case of acute stress eg a car crash. The advice given to the author was 'if you are thinking of ringing for an ambulance then inject BEFORE dialling 999'.
The injection is normally intramuscular and into the deepest part of the thigh muscle or upper arm and it can be given through clothing in an emergency.