Every school in the Putnam County School System will have EpiPens readily available thanks to a local partnership with a local medical provider.
Putnam County Schools Nurse Coordinator Stephanie Brown said an estimated 128 students in Putnam County schools reported having a severe allergy. Brown said students can have severe allergies to certain foods, insects, or latex.
“I think that’s fantastic that we were able to do this,” Brown said. “Dr. Rohman (Erin Rohman) always signs our orders every year so that, you know, EpiPens are a prescription, so that we can administer those to children if they are having an anaphylactic or life-threatening reaction.”
Brown said the school system has had three documented incidents over the past couple of years where a student has experienced a severe allergic reaction at school. Brown said it is important to have EpiPens readily available as allergic reactions can rapidly escalate.
“Once the person has a reaction, their body views it as harmful,” Brown said. “They start developing symptoms like itchy watery eyes, runny nose, sneezing, they could swell like their airway could swell, lips, tongue, that sort of thing. So at that point in time, we would want to get that treated as quickly as possible.”
Epinephrine is good for allergic reactions as it slows the release of allergic chemicals like Histamine, helps open airways, and increases blood pressure. Brown said Epinephrine usually starts working within five to ten minutes. Brown said school administrators will be trained on how to use EpiPens.
“It has a cap on the top of it that’s a blue cap, and the orange on the bottom is where the needle is,” Brown said. “Most of the time, that’s kind of what our EpiPens will look like. So you would want to make sure you take the blue part off. We say blue to the sky and orange to the thigh, so you would take that top part off, and you would hit on the other part of the thigh. It can go right through clothing. You will hear it click, you will hold the tin place for five seconds, and then you will rub the area for 10 seconds in order to make sure all of that medication is dispensed throughout the body.”
Brown said EpiPens are usually stored in a yellow box that carries an adult dose and a pediatric dose. Brown said a child under 66 pounds would receive the pediatric dose.
The Allergy, Asthma, and Sinus Center donated the allergy medication.
