Happy New Year! I hope everyone will experience a year full of great and wonderful things, both big and small. I also wish everyone a little bit of time to refresh their food allergy management knowledge and preparedness. In January, I like to check expiration dates, revisit 504 plans and review the year ahead. Here are some New Year Food Allergy Checklist ideas that you might find useful…
New Year Food Allergy Checklist Ideas…
- Expiration Dates. Check your epinephrine auto-injector and asthma medication expiration dates for both home and school. Mylan®, the marketer and distributor of EpiPen® has extended their Zero Co-Pay program another year, ending on December 31, 2016.
- EpiPen® and Inhaler Carriers. It’s a great time to look for wear and tear and consider ordering new carriers for the New Year. We almost lost anEpiPen® when we discovered a big hole in my daughter’s carrier as herEpiPen®attempted to wiggle itself free! Here is my current list of carriers (please note: if you don’t see your favorite carrier on my list, please give me a shout out) Top List of EpiPen® and Inhaler Carriers.
- Revisit that 504 Plan. Now that the school year is half way completed, take a few minutes to review how well the plan has been working. Set up a meeting with your child’s teacher to ask how things are going. Does this plan need an update? My daughter would like to transition away from the nut free table and sit with her allergy aware friends. Therefore, we will update our plan soon.
- Share School Tools. The New Year is a great time to offer food allergy awareness and education tools to teachers, school nurses and administrators. They are returning to school hopefully refreshed and relaxed, which is a GREAT time to offer information versus the beginning of school, when staff is overwhelmed. Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Connection Team (FAACT) offers a free downloadable School Curricula Program for grades K-4, 4-8 and 9-12. The program includes teacher-designed powerpoints presentations, activities and lesson plans.
- Update Emergency Care Plans. Kick off 2016 by reviewing your current emergency care plan and updating if necessary. Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE) offer a nice standardized downloadable Emergency Care Plan in both English and Spanish.
- Practice Emergency Response. Take a few minutes and break out those epinephrine auto-injector trainers and practice with your family, friends, teachers and coaches. Being familiar with your device will help ease up any extra stress during an emergency.
Do you have any Food Allergy or Asthma related actions you take at the New Year to keep yourself or your family on track? Please share!
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!..