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In the aftermath of Amarria’s death, a spokesman for Hopkins Elementary, the school Amarria attended, suggested that there might be a problem if a child was given the drug in error. Hogwash.
People think “drug” and they worry about what it might do or about giving it in the wrong circumstance. Epinephrine may be a drug, but allergists who are experts on it say that if you used auto-injector by mistake on a person who didn’t need it, that person might get the jitters, maybe a stomach ache, or at worst, vomiting. In other words, it is considered a very safe drug. The consequences of not using it when needed are far greater than those of administering it when its use is questionable.
At a medical conference back in 2005, I interviewed Dr. Estelle Simons, an allergist and renowned expert on anaphylaxis and epinephrine. We were speaking about the lack of public awareness of anaphylaxis and of what to do in an emergency. After our interview, she tracked me down to add: “We need to get the message out: It should be public policy to teach people that anaphylaxis can be fatal and that lives can be saved by prompt injection of epinephrine.”
She was right then and she’s right today. And more can be done to change the situation in schools.
If you live in the United States, what you can do to help with emergency prevention in the schools is to lobby Congress for a very important proposed piece of legislation: the School Access to Emergency Epinephrine Act, dubbed the “stock” epinephrine law for short. It encourages states to require schools to have a stock of auto-injectors that can be used for any student who is having an allergic reaction. The bill was introduced by two Illinois senators after a 13-year-old in Chicago inadvertently ate peanut at a class party and died. Another young life needlessly lost, another tragedy where epinephrine could have made the difference.
While Virginia’s current self-carry allergy and asthma medications statute requires that epinephrine at school only be used for the student with a prescription, school staff everywhere need to be aware that all states (and provinces in Canada) have Good Samaritan’s Laws. Most will protect people to follow their instincts in an anaphylaxis emergency, without fear of being sued.
Virginia’s says: “Any person who, in good faith, renders emergency care or assistance, without compensation, to any ill or injured person at the scene of an accident, fire, or any life-threatening emergency … shall not be liable for any civil damages for acts or omissions resulting from the rendering of such care or assistance.”
We who are familiar in our daily lives with food allergies clearly need to help educate the educators at our local schools. When you impress upon your child’s teachers the seriousness of the allergy, don’t forget to also stress that they need not fear the auto-injector nor the medication that’s in it.
As a community, we have to convey that you don’t wait to see what the ambulance worker will think or to see if the reaction will get worse. By the time the ambulance arrived for Amarria, she was in cardiac arrest. This just didn’t have to be.
Let’s do what we can to change the climate of fear around epinephrine. It’s only a needle, one that will save a child’s life.
Note: Tell your school about a great new learning resource at: http://allergyready.com/
Sarah
I couldn’t agree more. Whenever I’m showing someone how to use the EpiPen for my son, the first thing I say is “This WILL save his life”. I don’t ever want anyone being afraid or doubtful to use it. We do talk a lot about prevention, but we need to talk just as much about what to do if that prevention fails.
Laine
I’m sorry. It seems the first line of defense, the child herself had no concept of avoidance, not her fault of course. Was it really an obvious peanut that she popped in her mouth? At age 7 she was certainly old enough to be taught not to ingest her allergen or any mystery food, no matter how well meaning the giver. Of course, a 7 year old brain might overrule her training, but it seems unlikely she was trained properly as the mother herself seemed not to know that an EpiPen was a critical back up and useless if not accessible to a knowledgeable caretaker including school staff. Are bereaved mothers to be excused if their negligence contributed to their child’s death?
Secondly, were teachers properly trained about the life and death difference an EpiPen can make? Because one of them should have grabbed another child’s EpiPen, legal consequences be damned. The phrase I use when demonstrating an EpiPen to someone is: “It’s safer to use it than not use it”. Properly trained people should understand that there is a miniscule chance of doing harm by injecting an EpiPen but a very big chance of condemning someone to death if they do NOT use it. Either the teachers at this school did not understand these relative risks or chose to avoid possible legal consequences for themselves at the expense of a child’s life. Yes, this was a tragedy, doubly so as it was preventable by adults who did not do their job of protecting a child properly.
Peanut Free Zone
Thanks for writing this article – everyone needs to hear this story to make sure it never happens again. It’s so sad that her life could have easily been saved…we need to make sure this law gets changed and quick!
Billie
Just wanted to chime in about the little girl not refusing the food she was given. Our kids (mine is 6) are great advocates for themselves, given the right tools from us parents, but at the end of the day, they are just children. They are children that want to be like everyone else. Now, also, I have pulled out some different types of nuts (peanuts and tree nuts alike) and showed them to my daughter…she could identify only a small amount as being a “tree nut” or peanut. Add in the fact that one nut can be shaped significantly differently than others and you’re in a whole new ballgame here.
My daughter is pretty good about refusing food, but well meaning adults are always trying to give her things at school and sometimes she accepts them. These well meaning adults have read the label and feel confident in what they’re doing and BELIEVE me, they hear from me EACH and EVERY time, but that’s the risk of having our kids in school. I know that they will learn, most now send the treat home with an ingredient label that they’ve photo-copied for me. I typically trash the treat regardless.
I LOVE that Chicago is getting “stock Epi” though!!! I think we’re making the right kind of waves here…and will continue to do so. :)