Anaphylaxis is a sudden and severe allergic reaction that requires immediate medical emergency measures or else it can be fatal. Reactions usually occur within minutes of exposure to an offending substance or sometimes even within a few hours. Specific symptoms vary from person-to-person and sometimes from attack-to-attack in the same person.
- Identify children with severe life threatening allergies and develop an emergency care plan for that child.
- Promote “allergy aware” classrooms, activities and playgrounds.
- Ensure that all teachers and staff with supervisory responsibilities are aware of:
- How to recognize signs and symptoms of anaphylaxis
- Avoidance strategies
- What to do in case of an emergency
- What to do in case of a reaction
- How to use an epinephrine auto-injector
- Consult with schools and provide training for anaphylaxis management, treatment and auto-injector use.
- Provide schools with resources for anaphylaxis education.
- Notify the school every year about their child’s severe allergy and any changes in his or her condition.
- Work with the school to complete an emergency care plan for their child.
- Provide the child or school with at least one epinephrine auto-injector. It is recommended that parents provide two auto-injectors in case their child requires a second dose and to take on field trips.
*Parents should be informed that school staff will not be trained on the second manual injection dose of epinephrine provided in the Twinject product.
Avoidance strategies: The 3 A’s of preventing anaphylaxis
Anaphylaxis emergency care plan
Vancouver school health manual - Section 15: Allergies and anaphylaxis