HEALTH MATTERS
Tips to be Prepared
for Life-threatening
Allergic Reactions at School
Article by Mylan Company
(BPT) - Most people take for granted childhood experiences that mark the end of a school year - a class picnic, a school bake sale or even a game of dodgeball in the schoolyard. But these activities can be a challenge for parents of children with potentially life-threatening (severe) allergies.
May is Allergy and Asthma Awareness Month, but it is always important for schools and families with children who have diagnosed severe allergies to work together to know the facts and have an action plan should a life-threatening allergic reaction - anaphylaxis - occur. With an estimated one in 13 U.S. children living with a food allergy that puts them at risk for anaphylaxis, a child with severe allergies may be found in almost every classroom, and awareness and access is a year-long commitment. In addition, anaphylaxis awareness in schools doesn't end with the management of known severe allergies.
According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 25 percent of anaphylactic reactions in schools occur in children with peanut and tree nut allergies who did not have a previous food allergy diagnosis. This means a child could experience their first life-threatening allergic reaction at school - a reality that school nurses and administrators face every day. That is why Mylan offers the EpiPen4Schools® program, which helps improve access to epinephrine in the event a person experiences anaphylaxis in the school setting by providing free epinephrine auto-injectors, a treatment for anaphylaxis, to kindergarten, elementary, middle and high schools nationwide. To date, Mylan has provided more than 850,000 free epinephrine auto-injectors to more than 72,000 schools.
How often does anaphylaxis occur in schools, and what should schools be doing to be prepared for anaphylaxis if it does occur? According to data from schools that have participated in EpiPen4Schools®, more than 1,100 incidents of anaphylaxis occurred across more than 6,500 U.S. schools during one school year. All schools in states with stock epinephrine laws should have on hand undesignated epinephrine, also