More and more states are passing laws enabling - or requiring - schools to keep a "stock" or "undesignated" supply of epinephrine auto-injectors on hand. Why train your entire staff to use an epinephrine auto-injector if they are stored exclusively in the nurse's office? Put your epinephrine where it can be used in an emergency before school, after school, during extracurricular activities and during weekend building activities. 

The Original Allergy Emergency Kit is compatible with all auto-injectors due to its patent-pending velcro back panel.

Get the Original Allergy Emergency Kit Epinephrine Cabinet

 Epinephrine Legislation

Obama signs School Access to Emergency Epinephrine Act

State Epinephrine Legislation Update:

Ohio  Illinois  California  Michigan 

North Carolina   Connecticut

FARE School Access To Epinephrine Map

Allergies and Epinephrine in the News

Crew use EpiPen ® to save girl on plane

New Epinephrine Kit Shows Strong Results at Cheaper Price

Women Says She Was Denied Job Due To Peanut Allergy

Allergic Reaction Symptoms

Mild symptoms may include one or more of the following:

• Hives (reddish, swollen, itchy areas on the skin)
• Eczema (a persistent dry, itchy rash)
• Redness of the skin or around the eyes
• Itchy mouth or ear canal
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Stomach pain
• Nasal congestion or a runny nose
• Sneezing
• Slight, dry cough
• Odd taste in mouth
• Uterine contractions

Severe symptoms may include one or more of the following:

• Obstructive swelling of the lips, tongue, and/or throat
• Trouble swallowing
• Shortness of breath or wheezing
• Turning blue
• Drop in blood pressure (feeling faint, confused, weak, passing out)
• Loss of consciousness
• Chest pain
• A weak or “thread” pulse
• Sense of “impending doom”

More information available on the FARE web site

Most Common Allergy Triggers

• Milk
• Eggs
• Peanuts
• Tree nuts (such as almonds, cashews, walnuts)
• Fish (such as bass, cod, flounder)
• Shellfish (such as crab, lobster, shrimp)
• Soy
• Wheat

Beyond food allergies, it is notable that anaphylactic reactions fall into four major groups: food, latex, drugs and insect stings.

FARE publishes a Food Allergy Field Guide for families with newly diagnosed food allergies.

Allergy Resources

Web Sites:

• Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE)
• American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology

I have contemplated a number of experiments to figure out exactly what happens when you use an auto-injector.  Although I would say "don't try this at home" - these videos are actually quite helpful in understanding the mechanics of what these devices do.

Making Auto-Injector Training Fun

• Make it a game
• Don't Allow Bad Technique
• Repetition is the key to learning
• Follow Up With Serious Discussion

AT HOME ...

The Original Allergy Emergency Kit™ - Home Version
Wall Mounted Velcro Panel Puts Your Allergy Supplies Where Babysitters and Grandparents Can Easily Find Them!  Comes with laminated instructions for EpiPen®, Auvi-Q® and Benadryl.

ON THE GO...

	The Conspicuous Self-Carry Bag (for children's backpacks or lunch pails) I personally don't want pretty designer cases for epinephrine auto-injectors - I want something that tells it like it is!
	Pins, Buttons and Zipper Pulls to Inform Adults About a Child's Allergies  Darn, why didn't I think of this! An incredible selection of allergy warning supplies at www.creativeclam.com

Today's School Nurses have more to worry about than ever. When I realized my own daughter's school was juggling 30 epinephrine auto-injectors and 30 asthma inhalers, I designed a line of cabinets to keep everything secure and organized.  These cabinets come with signage, evacuation bags and all the label/polybag supplies you need to get started.

The Original Allergy Emergency Kit™ Nurse's Office Epinephrine Cabinets
The Original Allergy Emergency Kit™ Nurse's Office Inhaler Cabinets

Helpful Sample Documents and Templates:

• Managing Food Allergies In A School Environment
• Free Auto-Injector Label Printing App
• HIPPA Waiver For Allergy Info Photo Labels

• All cabinets are built with a breakable front window for emergency access.
• We will not build a locking cabinet without an emergency access hammer.
• Unlocked versions of cabinets are available with door alarms.

Attn: School Nurses & Administrators!

A generous free EpiPen® program from Mylan Specialty:  Up to 4 free EpiPens per building - and additional ones available at a discount!

Mylan also offers a program for regular folks they call the $0 Co-Pay Offer.

School Nurse Supply Catalogs

• School Health
• School Kids Healthcare (coming soon)
• MacGill
• School Nurse Supply

For Epinephrine Nerds...

Did you know that epinephrine was actually discovered by Napoleon Cybulski in 1895 and separately on the other side of the world by Jokichi Takamine in 1900.  It was first synthesized in laboratories by Friedrich Stolz and Henry Drysdale Dakin in 1904.  Maybe in another hundred years the price will come down!

The modern day epinephrine auto-injector owes its existence to a military ComboPen which was used for field treatment of exposure to chemical weapons.  Sheldon Kaplan invented the ComboPen while working for Survival Technology in Bethesda, Maryland between 1965 and 1978.  Thanks Sheldon, you rock!

I hope you find this information useful.  I am trying to help as many people as I can with best practices and good product ideas for managing life threatening allergies.

My daughter has a tree nut allergy and it has been a real life changing experience for our family.

If you would like to talk, you can reach me at 773-932-7483 or you can connect to me on LinkedIn or Facebook.

The Original Allergy Emergency Kit
Phone: 773-932-7483

• Quantity discounts are available for most products.
• Large districts can request a fully refundable sample unit for testing and school board demonstrations.
• Hundreds of Original Allergy Emergency Kit™ cabinets are already installed in public and private schools throughout the United States.