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How does epinephrine work? – Annabelle, 15, Missouri

Dear Annabelle,

I love a peanut butter and tuna sandwich. But when I was a kitten, my school outlawed peanuts. My classmate was super allergic to them. So, we had a rule to keep our friend safe. I packed plain tuna fish instead.

I talked about that with my friend Travis T. Denton. He studies medicinal chemistry and neuroscience at Washington State University.

He told me that epinephrine is the medicine people use for a serious allergic reaction called anaphylaxis. It comes in an auto-injector, or EpiPen.

An autoinjector for epinephrine lying on its side. It's mostly ... <a href=» More …

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What happens to the pill capsules after you swallow the pill? – Avery, 11, Illinois

Dear Avery,

I think it’s really cool when a clear pill has teeny tiny balls of medication inside it. My paws itch to bat it around—but I know medicine isn’t a toy, so I sharpen my claws on my desk and then get back to answering your questions.

I asked my friend Damianne Brand-Eubanks what happens after you swallow one of those capsules. She teaches in the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Washington State University. She’s an expert on medication.

She told me that the outside of a pill capsule is usually made of gelatin. That’s the same stuff that’s in jello or gummy candy.

“Just like with food, you swallow the pill, and it goes down the esophagus into the stomach, where there's a whole bunch of acid,” Brand-Eubanks said. “That acid breaks down the gelatin capsule.”

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