1 in 5 have first food reaction at school course teaches schools to be ready

(COLUMBUS, Ohio) August 2012 - As a new school year gets underway, there is one test that teachers and other school officials can’t afford to fail; improperly responding to a student who is having a severe allergic reaction to food can be dangerous and, in extreme cases, even deadly.

Of the estimated six million children who have food allergies in the United States², as many as one in four had their first reaction at school.¹ Self-injectable epinephrine devices, such as EpiPensTM, deliver the drug epinephrine and can help during an allergic reaction, but just having them on hand isn’t enough.

“With approximately two and a half million EpiPensTM in circulation, it struck me that there are probably a lot more EpiPensTM out there than people who know how to use them,” said Dr. Daniel Scherzer, Emergency Medicine physician at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. “So, we developed a method to assess how familiar people are with them, and a way to teach them how and when to use them” he said.

Several times a year, Dr. Scherzer teachers a class on EpiPensTM, training school nurses and other staff how to use them. Each year as many as 150 people actually die from food allergies and thousands more experience severe reactions. “Some of these people actually had ephinephrine in the vicinity, it was available to them,” said Dr. Scherzer, “it just wasn’t used or it wasn’t used in time.”

Part of the reason EpiPensTM might go unused in an emergency is because, for many people, they are intimidating, particularly when an adult has to act on behalf of a young child or someone else who can’t self-administer. But Scherzer, who is also a Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine, says the idea of using EpiPensTM gets a lot easier with just a little practice. “A little bit of hands-on training and discussion seems to go a long way,” said Dr. Scherzer. “After our training course, we notice a measurable increase in people’s knowledge and their ability to know how and when to use an EpiPenTM.”

That’s comforting to parents like Karen Lee, whose son Adam has a peanut allergy so sensitive that just smelling them can cause a dangerous reaction. “He is in the highest risk category for an anaphylactic reaction,” said Lee, “so we’re always wondering, is everything that comes into his classroom safe?”

Lee says she carries an EpiPenTM at all times, but sending her child off to first grade this fall marks the first time her son will spend the majority of his time out of her supervision. “You’re always wondering ahead of time, be it the playground, the science center, anywhere he goes, what has somebody eaten before he got there and is there residue or dust that can cause a reaction.” she said. “It’s unsettling.”

But programs like the one offered through Nationwide Children’s Hospital, are helping to put Lee’s mind at ease. “I think it’s a great idea,” she said. “I think there needs to be more awareness, more education and more access to things like that.”

“There are other children in his school who have to carry EpiPensTM as well, so he’s definitely not the only one,” said Lee. “Which, on one hand is reassuring, but on the other hand, makes you wonder why there are so many kids out there that have to carry the EpiPensTM as a precaution.”

Nationally, the number of children with food allergies is going up. In fact, some estimates have doubled in just the last five years.2,3 “We’re not really sure why it’s happening.” said Dr. Scherzer. Thanks to his EpiPenTM classes, more adults will be prepared to act if ever those children find themselves dealing with a severe allergic reaction.

To learn how to use an EpiPenTM , visit NationwideChildrens.org/EpiPen.

1Management of Food Allergy in the School Setting, Pediatrics, Volume 126, Number 6, December 2010.  Online: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/126/6/1232.full

2Prevalence, Severity, and Distribution of Childhood Food Allergy in the United States, Pediatrics, Volume 128, Number 1, July 2011.  Online: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2011/06/16/peds.2011-0204.full.pdf+html

3CDC Study finds 3 Million U.S. Children have Food or Digestive Allergies, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, October 22, 2008, Online: http://www.cdc.gov/media/pressrel/2008/r081022.htm