When I was in second grade, a boy named George accidentally ate a peanut M&M and turned bright red. We thought he was choking. This was in the 1975, when no one talked about food allergies. George was OK, but the panic that ensued during that incident showed how little the average adult knew about treating allergies.
Back then, allergies weren’t as prevalent, but today, even though an estimated 6 million children (8% of all US kids) are affected by food allergies, the majority of parents are still in the dark about how to treat a severe allergic reaction.
Fun fact: The numbers of kids with food allergies doubled steadily between 1997 and 2001, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
A new study, published this month in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, found that less than half of children experiencing a life-threatening reaction were given epinephrine by their parents prior to taking them to the ER. Most of these kids (65%) had a known history of anaphylaxis, and 47 percent had a prescription for epinephrine. Why?
Lack of training and patient education is to blame, according to a study issued in January 2016 by Northwestern Medicine and the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.
Researchers talked with 859 parents of children with severe food allergies. Approximately one-third of those parents did not recall their child’s allergist explaining when and how to use epinephrine. Sixty-percent said they didn’t remember their pediatrician providing instructions…
“Allergists want parents, caregivers, and emergency responders to know epinephrine should always be the first line of defense when treating anaphylaxis,” says allergist David Stukus, member of the ACAAI Public Relations Committee and co-author of the study.
Not only this, but he says we should always have a second dose of epinephrine with you us, as anaphylaxis can be fatal if not treated appropriately.
For more information about treatment of anaphylaxis and to locate an allergist in your area, visit AllergyAndAsthmaRelief.org.
