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And I forgot to mention earlier that the Epi-Pen is also very temperature sensitive too. You can't keep one in a car. I have heard of people using an Epi-Pen that is a dud because it has been left in a car. Not good when your life depends on its effectiveness.
This has been debated for a long time now. Most school nurses are not RN's. Many schools do not even have school nurses. Someone is going to have to make the decision to give the Epi-Pen, and if there is no nurse, then who? It would be a logistical (and sadly litigious) nightmare to have people working in school dispensing drugs without prescriptions.
We don't have a nurse in our school....rather a sort of health aide.
I used to always make a habit whenever one of my kids friends would eat with us I would either call their parent and ask about allergies or ask them if they were old enough . I had several allergies growing up including several food allergies and never once did a parent ask me that i remember .I remember one girls mother telling me she had pasta allergy and peanut butter allergy and a chocolate allergy and I thought poor kid all the good food and she is allergic LOL !!! and I thought that kid really should carry an epi pen .
Our soon 7 yr old boy is allergic to peanuts, milk and eggs. We go to an allergiy clinic in Wisconsin every 6 months and he does take food drops of the allergens to hopefully improve his tolerance if ever he comes in contact with the allergens. Of course all of this is under the care of our doctor down in Wisconsin.
But I think all parents who have kids in school need to communicate with all school personnel involved with the child. Our son is very very knowledgeable of his allergies, since he has had them since birth (he was tested at 1 yr and 2 yr). Our school nurse is an RN, and we purchase 4 epi-pens (70.00 each for us after insurance) -- one is put in a small pouch in his classroom, for which a teacher takes with him on recess and to lunch or other rooms, another is at the nurses station, my wife has one she carries in her purse, and we have one we carry in his backpack to take whenever we are out with him. Yes they are replaced once a year. His teacher and the nurse have been instructed on how to use it, so have we, and in time so will our son. Our school is peanut safe - meaning he sits at a no peanut table (never alone--always with lots of his friends)....and no peanut snacks are allowed in his room. A para wipes the tables down in the lunchroom before he sits. All in all things have worked out well....but communication is the key among all involved.
He had a test done recently (allergy component testing) which looks specifically at each protein, as some kids are allergic to those proteins that you can outgrow over time or a bit less serious. We now know his allergies will never be outgrown, so we are hopeful our food drop treatment system (immunothology) helps in times he might come in contact with dairy or peanuts.
I wonder how many parents with kids with allergies are familiar with such places as Allergy Assoc of LaCrosse, or other such places in the country. There are not many. I do know of great research done out of John's Hopkins in Baltimore and some other universities such as Duke. I encourage all parents to get their child tested each year....as the levels or types of allergens can and often change. Our food drops are not covered by insurance, but not terribly expensive...usually run about 250.00 every 3 months. The goal of all this is to hopefully mitigate any effects in case he does come into contact with his allergens. I do know in our experience we had to go beyond our current doctor to get better testing results.
I think that if your kid allergies (or you have) allergies, you have to be responisble for your own safety. I would be sure my kid had his/her own epipen, and I would be sure that they never ate anything that didn't come from home. I'm not sure about this case- did the mom not provide an epipen? Was she counting on the school to provide one for her? If that's the case, the child's death is her mom's fault- the school is NOT in the business of providing epipens for whomever needs one!
I found this particular story quite upsetting. The fact is Epipens are like other generic medical supplies, which is why places like schools could easily stock them. There are only two dosage levels, and in a seven year old either dosage level would be better than none. It angers me the nurse did not take another child's Epipen shot to save this kid's life. Any nurse or any parent familiar with life threatening allergies knows that an Epipen is essential in such a scenario. The Epipen shot should not be feared. It is better to give it in error than not at all. (as long as it is administered in the thigh as is very clearly indicated on the shot label).
I have given my daughter an Epipen shot twice, and it is extremely easy to administer. The fact is the defibrillator machines in schools and other places actually have much more risk than an Epipen shot. The shot does have some side effects, but they are pretty harmless. The only potential problem would be with a child with a congenital heart defect. However, in this case, the child was known to have an allergy; she told the staff she was reacting; she had hives and she said she was having trouble breathing. There should have been no question that she needed a shot.
An ambulance is supposed to called after administering the shot because of the potential for the allergic reaction to return or continue. You don't call an ambulance because of the shot itself. That is misinformation another poster put on this site.
In the end, this story is sad and scary for anyone who has a child with an allergy. It is frightening to watch your child go through a terrible reaction, and to think a school nurse would not help when he or she could in such a scenario is really heartbreaking.
when my daughter got her first shots I told her daycare to give her baby tylenol that I provided if should run a fever and they told me that they cant and suggested that I give it to her before I leave. I said no of course because she wasnt running a fever. THEN a few days later she has started to develop a rash and they refused to put the cream I gave them. Welp took her out of that daycare.
I think its stupid if you can save someones life by breaking the rules why wouldnt you? What are you risking your job? Id give up a million jobs to save a childs life. A lawsuit? Id also be sued a million times to save a childs life.
And just how does the caregiver know what the child is and is not allergic to?
How does the caregiver know what reaction the child will have to XYX medication?
And how would you feel if the medication you gave to someone else's child permanently caused them physical or mental problems or killed them?
Would you tell the parents "whoops, sorry but my intentions were good"??????
I found this particular story quite upsetting. The fact is Epipens are like other generic medical supplies, which is why places like schools could easily stock them. There are only two dosage levels, and in a seven year old either dosage level would be better than none. It angers me the nurse did not take another child's Epipen shot to save this kid's life. Any nurse or any parent familiar with life threatening allergies knows that an Epipen is essential in such a scenario. The Epipen shot should not be feared. It is better to give it in error than not at all. (as long as it is administered in the thigh as is very clearly indicated on the shot label).
It is illegal for the school to give a student medication that is not prescribed to them and/or does not have the proper paperwork attached to it.
It is illegal for the school to give a student medication that is not prescribed to them and/or does not have the proper paperwork attached to it.
Oh good gravy..Have you ever seen a child in anaphylactic shock?
Imagine you are in a nurse's office, and a child with a known allergy is brought in. You learn she ate something she is allergic to. She has indicated she is having a reaction and is having trouble breathing. The child is panicking. She is terrified. Don't look in her eyes or you may see a look you don't want to see as the child's airway closes and her heart starts failing.
You know that you are standing right next to a cabinet with probably about a dozen identical Epipen shots. You know one of those shots could stop the terror and save her life.
Instead, you say to her--"I'm sorry. I don't have your paperwork."
There is a point when you don't worry about your own butt. There is a point where Good Samaritan laws come into play. There is a point when you understand why the Food and Allergy Network is trying to get legislation passed that would allow and encourage all schools to stock extra Epipens.
When my daughter was the same age as this girl she went into anaphylactic shock after eating at a restaurant. During the turmoil, I did not realize I gave her an expired Epipen shot. Giving expired medicine is also illegal at school (even if it is only a matter of days). Fortunately the medicine worked and no one put me in handcuffs for saving my daughter's life.
Please review Good Samaritan laws, they do not cover health care workers not following the laws governing their practice.
I am an RN, my area of expertise is Pediatric ICU. I have known many nurses lose their licence for giving emergency medications during cardiac arrest situations if the medications were not prescribed.
People suggesting the nurse should just give the medication regardless of the legality should attempt to change the law, because suggesting people do something that will impact them personally, professionally, and financially for the rest of their lives is all well and good when it doesn't impact YOU one iota!
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