Have you talked to your kids about peanut allergy (babysitter, girls, play)
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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.
From the original article:
Quote:
Pendleton told local reporters her daughter did have a plan, but said the school refused to take Johnson's EpiPen and failed to give her Benedryl -- an over-the-counter antihistamine also listed in her plan -- at the first sign of a reaction.
Why would the school have refused to take an epipen for her given that the guidelines for epipens are certainly in place.
Quote:
"When it comes to a life-threatening allergic reaction, it's so simple to save that life," said Maria Acebal, chief executive officer of the Fairfax, Va.-based Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network, which championed the bill. "I have no doubt that the school where this little girl went had an EpiPen in the office -- it just didn't have Ammaria's name on it."
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A school EpiPen stash could soon be a reality with a proposed bill that would encourage states to adopt laws requiring schools to have EpiPens on hand. The School Access to Emergency Epinephrine Act, proposed in December 2011, would mean EpiPens could be used for any student or staff member in an anaphylactic emergency.
The bill would include liability protection for school officials who give epinephrine in good faith, Acebal said.
"No one in this country has ever been sued for giving epinephrine, to my knowledge," said Acebal. "All the lawsuits come about because school officials don't give it when it's needed."
As a girl scout troop leader, I have had CPR training. As a preK teacher I had epipen training because we did keep it if a child brought it in. Epipens are actually quite easy to use and you don't need to be a nurse to administer them. The big caution is that they are to be injected into the outer thigh, not intravenously or in the butt. They are not likely to cause problems unless the child has other conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes or thyroid conditions or if you are pregnant or take heart related medications.
Hopefully any other conditions the child had would be noted by the school as a contraindication to epi pen use.
Why would the school have refused to take an epipen for her given that the guidelines for epipens are certainly in place.
As a girl scout troop leader, I have had CPR training. As a preK teacher I had epipen training because we did keep it if a child brought it in. Epipens are actually quite easy to use and you don't need to be a nurse to administer them. The big caution is that they are to be injected into the outer thigh, not intravenously or in the butt. They are not likely to cause problems unless the child has other conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes or thyroid conditions or if you are pregnant or take heart related medications.
Hopefully any other conditions the child had would be noted by the school as a contraindication to epi pen use.
I'm not quite sure why you quoted my post.
I am a pediatric ICU nurse, and I think it's putting a huge responsibility of teaching staff to make medical decisions in the absence of a school nurse. Would you be able to tell the difference between a child having an anaphylactic reaction, a severe asthma attack, and a keto-acidotic episode? My guess is the average layman would not be able to distinguish between them in the absence of a previous diagnosis.
If there is a school nurse, then yes, a stock of Epi-Pen is a great idea, but then people better wise-up and quit blaming and suing like crazy because there are going to be incidents.
The first sign of an allergic reaction in a food-allergic child is to throw up. Do you know how many children throw up each day in schools. I do as I asked the nurse this question. In my kids school between 20 and 30 kids a day throw up. Is it a food allergy, or just kid upchuckitis?
There are very good guidelines in place for managing severe allergies in schools. If people followed them (both parents and school nurses) incidents like this should not happen.
I am a pediatric ICU nurse, and I think it's putting a huge responsibility of teaching staff to make medical decisions in the absence of a school nurse. Would you be able to tell the difference between a child having an anaphylactic reaction, a severe asthma attack, and a keto-acidotic episode? My guess is the average layman would not be able to distinguish between them in the absence of a previous diagnosis.
If there is a school nurse, then yes, a stock of Epi-Pen is a great idea, but then people better wise-up and quit blaming and suing like crazy because there are going to be incidents.
The first sign of an allergic reaction in a food-allergic child is to throw up. Do you know how many children throw up each day in schools. I do as I asked the nurse this question. In my kids school between 20 and 30 kids a day throw up. Is it a food allergy, or just kid upchuckitis?
There are very good guidelines in place for managing severe allergies in schools. If people followed them (both parents and school nurses) incidents like this should not happen.
I think the bigger question is why the childs mother didn't have the child carrying this with her.
I think the bigger question is why the childs mother didn't have the child carrying this with her.
Most children do not carry Epi-Pen on their person, my son does not. And especially not on the playground. They are fragile and temperature sensitive.
Which raises the question that has still not been answered...this child had this reaction whilst on the playground. Was this a peanut allergy, or was something else going on. Strange to be eating on the playground.
Most children do not carry Epi-Pen on their person, my son does not. And especially not on the playground. They are fragile and temperature sensitive.
Which raises the question that has still not been answered...this child had this reaction whilst on the playground. Was this a peanut allergy, or was something else going on. Strange to be eating on the playground.
Which i can understand,but given this ladies story i think she should have packed it with the child. Though lets be honest how many parents when their child has a severe allergy are just going to meekly accept a school saying no?
Which i can understand,but given this ladies story i think she should have packed it with the child. Though lets be honest how many parents when their child has a severe allergy are just going to meekly accept a school saying no?
I just saw this thread today. Like Zimbochick, I am an RN with a pediatric background. I work in a peds office, and we get a lot of requests to fill out forms for epi-pens. We ususally let kids carry their own pens in middle school, but there still has to be an order on file for the child to use it. As has been stated, after one gets an epi-pen, an ambulance needs to be called and the patient (child in this case) needs to be taken to the ER.
In Colorado as in many other states mentioned in this thread, school nurses have to have a specific certification; however, schools are not required to have a school nurse on site at all times. Most schools have a heatlh room parapro. A good friend of mine is a health room para at a local ele school. She relates a lot of difficulty getting parents to turn in signed orders, epi-pens, Benadryl and other meds.
Most schools have a first responder team that includes the HR parapro. I'm not sure about the legality of all of them giving drugs, but I know the HR para can and does give insulin and other meds.
I agree the school probably didn't have an order for the epi-pen. My friend always talks at the beginning of the year about pens w/o orders and orders w/o pens.
The first sign of an allergic reaction in a food-allergic child is to throw up. Do you know how many children throw up each day in schools. I do as I asked the nurse this question. In my kids school between 20 and 30 kids a day throw up. Is it a food allergy, or just kid upchuckitis?
.
This is not necessarily true. Some kids who are having allergic reactions throw up and others do not. My daughter did not have a throwing up incident until she was 7. When she was younger, her first sign of a reaction was hives and itching, which then would be followed by swelling, wheezing etc. Most kids have multiple symptoms during a reaction.
The most common food allergy symptoms include:
Tingling or itching in the mouth
Hives, itching or eczema
Swelling of the lips, face, tongue and throat, or other parts of the body
Wheezing, nasal congestion or trouble breathing
Abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea or vomiting
Dizziness, lightheadedness or fainting
As for using the Epipen, if you have a child with allergies you end up passing along an Epipen to all kinds of people when they are younger. I have given my daughter's Epipen to preschool teachers, teenage babysitters, camp directors and other parents. Many schools train all teachers on how to use an Epipen. I have trained many people myself. You certainly don't have to be a nurse to administer an Epipen.
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