Friday Food For Thought: After speaking to a school nurse the other day, I was reminded of the two biggest mistakes us food allergy parents make every year! Sometimes, these two errors are simply born out out of parents still riding the learning curve or possibly from us letting down our guard and being too comfortable. Nevertheless, there are two areas that we need to pause and consider. I was grateful for bumping into the school nurse while shopping and that she took the personal time to remind me of these important points. Note: never change your allergy plans without speaking to your physician first! Always meet with a medical professional to confirm your child’s need (or your own) and plan.
Two of the biggest SCHOOL LIFE THREATENING ALLERGY MISTAKES parents can make:
- Not supplying EPINEPHRINE. This includes your child carrying, (if age appropriate), their Epi Pen®, Auvi-Q® or Adrenaclick® epinephrine auto-injectors, in addition to supplying at least one EPI, (the scientific term for epinephrine), for school use that is maintained in the nursing office.Why is this critical to the health and well being of kids already diagnosed with life threatening allergies to foods, insect bites, latex, etc?In states like mine, where schools stock EPI, it’s easy to think, “I don’t need to send in my kid’s EPI, the school has one already, I can put that money towards vacation instead”. WRONG! I learned that precious life saving minutes will be wasted if school staff has to pull a student’s health record and then review anaphylaxis protocol (remember, staff has to estimate weight to ensure proper dosing, etc. ) to determine if the child is experiencing an allergic reaction. If the child has EPI on hand along with doctor’s orders or an action plan, then staff can immediately administer the right dosing of epinephrine per the plan’s direction. My children’s plan simply state if a known allergen has been digested, EPI must be administered–we will not wait for breathing issues or major symptoms. Also, if your school does not maintain stock epinephrine at school, if there is a reaction, time will be lost in summoning Emergency Medical Services. We know that immediate administration of EPI direct effects the successful outcome of an allergic reaction.
- Waiting for problems to arise before establishing a 504 Plan. I’ve heard many parents comment about only wanting to create a 504 plan if “things don’t go well”. I understand that many of us do not want to be difficult or call attention to our child, so we sometimes make concessions thinking that we are helping, but in reality we are laying down the ground work for a difficult path! It’s similar to saying, “let’s wait and see if I have a fire in my house before I install smoke alarms”. Create the plan ahead of time to ensure all parties involved with your student understand and are able to meet your child’s life threatening allergies.
As parents of children with life threatening food allergies and asthma, back to school planning goes far beyond buying pencils and lunch boxes. It includes physician visits, allergy and asthma testing, purchasing Epi Pen®, Auvi-Q® or Adrenaclick® and inhalers-plus their carriers, confirming 504 meetings, food allergy management training and field trip planning. It’s tempting to try to cut corners and super easy to let things fall through the cracks. I think parents of students with life threatening allergies deserve a super hero award on the day school begins! Just getting to day one is a challenge, right?
What other mistakes do you suggest we need to avoid to help keep our children safe at school with life threatening food, insect and other allergies?
disclaimer: I linked the words 504 Plan to Green Laurel Documents as I decided that Laurel’s website offers easy explanations and solutions. Green Laurel Documents does not pay or ask me to offer their link. I simply choose to share items that I feel you might find valuable.
One of the hardest things I find about managing both life threatening food allergies and asthma is talking to others. I hate to be the one that might be perceived as demanding, pushing or for asking too much. What I now know, fourteen years later, is that honest, clear information presented with kindness works!..
One mistake that we tend to make is waiting too long to get epinephrine filled to get to the school. Often pharmacies and doctors offices are bombarded at the beginning of each school year. Last year, I started doing the process backwards- at the end of the school year, I went and filled our epinephrine for the fall (thank you EpiPen and Auvi-Q for the $0 copay cards, it’s MUCH appreciate!). By doing this, I know that we are already prepared and I know that the refill dates won’t be an issue until AFTER school as well.
Good Tip Nutrimom! I’ve done that one before too with our physician. Now I realize they get hundreds of forms for sign two weeks before school starts. The doctor explained that is all they do and asked us to come in earlier.
Thanks for the great tips. Here’s mine: make sure you check the expiration date when you have your epinephrine prescriptions filled. Often these expire in less than a year, and you don’t want to have to remember to replace one halfway through the school year.
Allergic Student–strong point regarding expiration dates. I have made this mistake myself and was horrified when I realized it. Thanks for joining the conversation.
Not meeting with staff who will be in contact with your child .
Bonnie, your point is what worries me the most today. In my district, I will only find 7 days before the start of school who is my child’s teacher. Then there is a scramble to meet with the nurse and teacher. My nurse oversees 3 school. It’s going to be interesting!