In November 2013, federal legislation encouraging states to pass laws allowing epinephrine to be stocked in schools was signed into action.
The legislation is designed to protect children who may experience unexpected anaphylaxis while at school. While most kids with diagnosed life-threatening food allergies already carry their emergency epinephrine auto-injectors to school with them on a daily basis, it is easy for something like this to get lost or be forgotten.
More importantly, however with food allergies on the rise, it is becoming more likely that kids with no prior history of allergic reactions may develop life-threatening allergies during childhood, experiencing their first reaction while at school. Currently in approximately 25% of the reactions that occur at school, the student had not yet been diagnosed with food allergy. Having epinephrine auto-injectors on hand and training staff on how to use them properly is the logical way to prepare for such an emergency.
While helpful, restricting nuts or peanuts from school classrooms isn’t enough. Any child can consume these foods at home and come to school without washing their hands, then accidentally pass the food protein to a child who is severely allergic. Additionally, kids can experience life-threatening reactions to any food, not just those that are among the most common allergens.
If current law allows your school to stock epinephrine, your school can receive up to 4 EpiPen Auto-Injectors for free.
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