Homa Woodrum, co-founder of the Food Allergy Blogger Conference, author of blogsite Oh Mah Deehness and a strong Nevada advocate wrote this very insightful blog post: When a School Tries to Split Up Epinephrine Auto-Injectors This is a very important read. Even if you have not encountered these issues to date, you might consider reading this piece. Bravo Homa for a VERY well written and researched post about this problem. Homa provides readers with links to supporting data as to why it is not acceptable to split up a two pack and only leave one EpiPen® or Auvi-Q® at school. I would like to add one more point to Homa’s important blog post: some schools have actual policy that only allow nurses or approved staff to administer ONE dose of epinephrine auto-injector. Therefore, ask your school nurse about district or state policy regarding how many doses may be administered.
We had this issue in my own school district. Old policy stated that nurses or aides could only administer one dose of epinephrine auto-injection. This policy was updated to reflect current Centers For Disease Control (CDC) guidelines and was included in our Nevada Mandated stock epinephrine law. The policy was created before the new recommendation had been issued. The good news is that we have better information and better practices right now. The challenge is ensuring that those who care for our children are current on best practices when responding to anaphylactic emergency.
Congratulations Homa on a very well written blog post that contains important links to vetted facts! Our strongest tool in making change and advocating for our families is using facts to make our point. Thank you.
Disclaimer: Homa is a friend and a fellow advocate, she did not ask me to cheer her on or write kind things. I am not receiving compensation other than knowing that I am sharing good information within our food allergy community.
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!..
Caroline, you are so kind. And yes, it depends on the state it seems as far as whether the second dose is an option but I haven’t found much on the subject yet. I will update when I do! Thank you!
Homa, thanks again for such an important piece.