Also, just because the Epi Pen says "for home use" on it, that does not mean "leave it at home and don't bring it out into the world where the allergens are."
Thank goodness we live in a large urban area and not out in the boonies where it might take fifteen or twenty minutes to get to a hospital, so when your kid stops breathing he is only minutes away from help.
That is all.
P.S. the kid was ok after epinephrine, steroids and magnesium, and a bunch of nebulizers.
6 comments:
The idiocy of people astounds me sometimes. Once, a few years ago, I took care of a little girl (3 years old, or so) in full-blown anaphylaxis - she did okay, happily. But the back story?
Known peanut allergy. Dad said "We just wanted to see if she was still allergic." Had thus fed child a spoonful of peanut butter. They'd just moved here from out of state, and the epi-pen was still packed away in a box somewhere, they said.
Good lord.
People just do not understand the distinction between allergies like hay fever and pollen, on the one hand, and anaphylaxis progressing extremely quickly to death on the other hand.
Is that like being a "little" pregnant?? Geez some shouldn't breed. Poor kid!
Yep, we just had a dietary clerk come to our unit last night with signs of antibiotic allergy (I forget what she was on...).
She called a big-city ER where she got the scrip and they told her, "Oh, don't worry." This is to the gal who is turning red (has a rash) and reports a swelling tongue and throat.
Needless to say, our charge called her boss and her derriere got shipped back before her airway totally closed. (We have no EpiPens on our unit...she'd have to code to get our epi.)
Maybe they didn't want to be interrupted on Memorial Day or something...nice! Nothing like a little anaphylaxis among friends.
Ohhhhh no. Like "a little" pregnant, there's no such thing as "a little" anaphylaxis--which is exactly what I tell people when they're trying to get me to eat something with just a "little" shellfish. Also, I describe in detail what the process of closing airway, angioedema, etc. is like. They usually stop. I mean, good Lord...
Another interesting correlation I have found in the ER...the length of the 'allergy' list is usually 1:1 with number of possible psychiatric problems the person has. :)
Great blog!
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