Talking Allergies

Thought this was interesting, and made me think of Epipens. Surely their policy isn't that cut and dried if Epis are allowed to be given? Parents sign over permission for them to do that, right?

http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2012/02/07/ns-girl-injection-school.html?cmp=rss

This drives me crazy.....but just wait, it will be a "shared" sometime...... Getting things changed one division at a time in one province at a time sure takes a lot of money and time...... :very mad Children need a union.

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Myself - Seasonal, cats
dd-asthma (trigger - flu) anaphylactic to eggs, severe allergies to bugspray and penicilin,pulmicort
ds-Seasonal, cats and OAS
dh-allergy cats, bugspray and guava, outgrew egg allergy

Insulin shots are not the same as epi. As far as I know, insultin is not available in pre-measured auto-injectors.

I have spoken to principals at the TDSB. The school will NOT give the second dose of a twin-ject. It goes against the teacher's collective agreement.

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self: allergy to sesame seeds and peanuts
3 sons each with at least one of the following allergies: peniciilin, sulfa-based antibiotic, latex, insect bites/stings

Insulin does come in injectable pen forms but you usually need to measure your blood sugar and dial the dose. I don't know a lot of the details of this case but I do know that in Ontario, we have community nurses who can come out and give injections if necessary. I don't know if they have these in Nova Scotia or if this child is a candidate for a pump.

Like it has been said, epinephrine is in a pre-dosed form. It is as simple as pull the pin and press.

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Moderator
Daughter: asthma, allergies to egg, milk, peanuts, tree nuts, most legumes (not soy) & penicillin. Developing hayfever type allergies.
Husband: no allergies
Me: allergies to some tree that flowers in May
Cat: allergic to beef, pork and lamb

At two different schools that I know of, a few staff have been trained to check the student's blood but they are not allowed to give the insulin. If the student falls below a certain level the parent is called and they decide if they want to come to the school to give the insulin. From the little that I have seen with one specific student, during the school day it is managed with food intake. When my friend's daughter was too young to look after it on her own my friend got a job within the school so that she could always be nearby.

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me: allergic to crustaceans plus environmental
teenager: allergic to hazelnuts, some other foods and environmental

I know it's not the same as an Epi, but they stated in the article that they are not allowed to give injections. If Epi is allowed, then they're not quite being truthful with that statement.

I teach diabetics how to self-inject, and it really is easy. Pens can simply be dialled up to the correct # of units and it's ready to go. No refrigeration required for insulin that has been opened, it's good for a month. No need for site prep anymore. People can literally pull their insulin pen out of their bag and have it done in a matter of seconds. The injection can barely be felt (I've had to do it on myself many times with a placebo - I really cannot feel it!) If she follows her meal plan, then there may not be a need to even check her sugar unless she is showing signs of hypoglycemia.

Probably in a bit of time she will no longer need 4x daily injections and this won't be an issue, as most are switched to longer-acting insulins once their diabetes stabilizes.

I think that there is a compromise in here somewhere. A few staff members could be easily taught. If the girl has to be taught to do it herself, then at least the staff should agree to learn how to supervise her properly as she gets used to doing it.

Obviously I know nothing about diabetes. Glad to hear things have advanced.

At about what age do kids usually start to give it to themselves? Looking at the picture of the girl, I would think some kids her age could do it, but not necessariy all of them.

And until then, if noboday at school can, there should be a nurse that can come out to do it. (I had a nurse coming here to change fil's ostomy bag, but that doesn't have to be done every day.)

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self: allergy to sesame seeds and peanuts
3 sons each with at least one of the following allergies: peniciilin, sulfa-based antibiotic, latex, insect bites/stings

My school board has nurses for the students and they travel to the schools when they are needed to help give insulin and check levels. As an EA I was in charge of supervising a student while she checked her blood sugar but she was on a pump so no need to inject and a nurse came 2x a day to adjust her pump as needed. I don't understand why this isn't available to this student. What do they do with students who are in a wheel chair and need a feeding tube?

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Sarah
Outgrew: Wheat, corn, egg, chicken, to name a few
Sensitive to Milk/Dairy products
Allergic to: Tree nuts, percocet, toradol, environmental allergies and chemical allergies
Migraines caused by scented products, barometric pressure

I can understand the school's hesitation since too much insulin can kill a person pretty quickly, not enough does damage over the long term. It takes training to know how to dose insulin so a teacher may not be the best person for that. I'm not sure why a nurse can't be made available for the child to help with injections, that child has the same rights to an education as any other child within the class, just as an allergic child does.

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Hiebs
Me - Allergic to Dogs, Cats, Dairy, Nickle.
DH - Celiac Disease
DS1 - Allergic to Horses, Cats, Dogs - Asthma, Eczema
DS2 - Allergic to Cats - Eczema, Asthma

If the school board doesn't have a nurse available that could go to the school every day, there should be a nurse through the provinces ministry of health (like VON nurses in Ontario) that can go. They have nurses that do in-home care, and until the child is old enough and mature enough to do this herself, they should be able to do in-school care.

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self: allergy to sesame seeds and peanuts
3 sons each with at least one of the following allergies: peniciilin, sulfa-based antibiotic, latex, insect bites/stings