Is Glucagon safe?
Trial and label safety data
AStrong human evidenceFDA approvedas of 2026-10-26
Nausea and vomiting are the most common effects. In the crossover trial they were reported at roughly a third of visits with either route. Headache or nasal discomfort is more frequent with the nasal powder. Glucagon is contraindicated in pheochromocytoma, a tumour that can release catecholamines in response to it. It is also contraindicated in insulinoma. It can fail when liver glycogen is used up. So labels say to give carbohydrate once the person can swallow. 234
More on Glucagon
Citations
- Novo Nordisk: GlucaGen HypoKit US discontinuation notice novomedlink.com
- Rickels 2016, Diabetes Care: intranasal glucagon for insulin-induced hypoglycemia in adults with type 1 diabetes doi.org
- FDA 2019: Gvoke (glucagon injection) prescribing information accessdata.fda.gov
- FDA 2019: Baqsimi (glucagon nasal powder) prescribing information accessdata.fda.gov
- Novo Nordisk 2021: GlucaGen (glucagon) HypoKit and Diagnostic Kit prescribing information novo-pi.com
Reference information only, not medical advice. Drawn from the Glucagon article, fact-checked against the cited sources. No dosing anywhere on this site.