“Can my son carry his EpiPen to school?”
My son has a severe nut allergy and we want him to carry his EpiPen everywhere he goes. Can kids usually carry EpiPens to school?
4 Answers
The answer depends on the age of the child, the severity and rapidity of the reaction, and the school. In general, yes, the child should have the EpiPen in their backpack with them if they move between classes, or with the teacher if they stay in one place or are too young to be responsible for it and its self-administration. Parents need to identify the allergy to the Teacher(-s), the symptoms indicating the onset of the reaction, the time critical need to call 911 (AND, not "or"), summon the School Nurse (if fortunate enough to have one), and where/how to arm and administer the EpiPen to the child, or assist with this procedure. If a rapid onset and/or severe reaction history, it should be stressed to the Teacher that the reaction could potentially be triggered by contact with small amounts of the allergen (such as peanut butter) inadvertently transferred to other objects, and thus at "non-lunch" or "non-snack" times of the day. [An example of this would be a non-allergic person who eats a PB&J, then touches common items/areas, such as door knobs, counters, keyboards, etc, with transfer of microscopic amounts of the allergen to those surfaces. The susceptible (/allergic) person then follows behind later and picks up the allergen from these areas and has a reaction. (This is why some schools have taken the extreme precaution of banning peanut containing products.)
Should ask the school about their policies.
If he has a valid prescription verified by the school nurse.
He should be able to. If not, have your pediatrician write a note.
