There are tens of thousands of kids today that have life threatening food allergies and this number is increasing each year. Several hundred people die each year as a result of their food allergy. You would think that for this many people to have died, they probably didn’t know about their food allergy until it was too late. But this is not true. Almost all of the people who have died from their food allergy knew about their allergy and had a prescription for an EpiPen. Unfortunately for these people, they either didn’t have their EpiPen with them when they needed it, or the people that they were with didn’t know how to help them. There is no cure for severe peanut allergy and for many other food allergies. Therefore, my goal is to help create awareness of peanut allergy and to help train people what to do if a friend has a food allergy reaction.
The first step in saving lives is prevention. This means taking steps to make sure that the food allergic person does not come into contact with the food he is allergic to. People always ask Alex if he can eat in the same cafeteria or table as other people, and the answer is “Yes”. Alex only needs to be careful that he doesn’t come into direct contact with peanuts. The purer the source of peanut the more careful Alex has to be. Alex can sit next to someone in the cafeteria if that person is eating something that may only contain trace amounts of peanuts or peanut oil. For example, if somebody is eating pretzels that were processed in a plant that also processed peanuts, Alex would not be able to eat the pretzels, but it would be OK for Alex to sit next to him. On the other hand, Alex has to stay away from people eating peanut butter, granola bars, and things like that.
The next step in saving lives is Recognition. This means that it is important for the people around Alex to know about his peanut allergy and to be able to recognize when an allergy reaction is happening. We’ve created an “Action Plan” for Alex and we make sure that it is always close by. The Action Plan outlines what symptoms to look for so you can properly recognize an allergic reaction. It shows you what to do, who to call, and most importantly, how to use the EpiPen. Alex keeps an Action Plan and a complete Medical Kit with the school Nurse and in his classroom. He also carries a medical kit in a special pocket of his backpack everywhere he goes. There is always a copy of his Action Plan in each of his medical kit bags. All of his teachers should know where the Action Plan and Medical Kit are stored. It is important that the medical kit always be kept in the same place and is always accessible.
The third step in saving lives is Training. This means being prepared and comfortable in the use of an EpiPen and other medications carried in an emergency food allergy medical kit. Alex carries 4 drugs in his medical kit – an EpiPen, Benadryl, Zyrtec and Zantac. None of these drugs will stop the allergic reaction; they will only slow it down to give you time to get him to a hospital. The EpiPen is by far the most important and should be given first. While one person is giving the EpiPen, somebody else should be calling 911. Do not wait for the paramedics to give him the EpiPen. Paramedics can not give a patient a drug that was handed to them by somebody else. And most paramedics do not carry EpiPens in their medical kits. The EpiPen has absolutely no dangerous side effects, and doctors now recommend that you give somebody an EpiPen even if you only suspect that a reaction is starting. You can never hurt a person by injecting them with an EpiPen – so don’t ever hesitate to inject. But please don’t do it just for the fun of it ;) Only YOU can save your friend’s life!
The next step in saving lives is Recognition. This means that it is important for the people around Alex to know about his peanut allergy and to be able to recognize when an allergy reaction is happening. We’ve created an “Action Plan” for Alex and we make sure that it is always close by. The Action Plan outlines what symptoms to look for so you can properly recognize an allergic reaction. It shows you what to do, who to call, and most importantly, how to use the EpiPen. Alex keeps an Action Plan and a complete Medical Kit with the school Nurse and in his classroom. He also carries a medical kit in a special pocket of his backpack everywhere he goes. There is always a copy of his Action Plan in each of his medical kit bags. All of his teachers should know where the Action Plan and Medical Kit are stored. It is important that the medical kit always be kept in the same place and is always accessible.