Many local schools are scrambling to get ready for the first day back. This year there will be something new in your child's school and it could save a life.
"It can be a matter of life and death," said LaVern Davis, the Associate Director of Health Services for Roanoke County Schools.
She's talking about an EpiPen which is an auto injector that's packed with a dose of epinephrine, a drug that's slows down symptoms if someone has a severe allergic reaction.
"Some of the symptoms involve swelling of the throat and the airway and difficulty breathing," Davis said. Another serious side effect is when a person goes into anaphylactic shock.
In the seconds after an allergic reaction administering epineprhine is crucial. The auto injector allows a person to quickly inject a dose of the drug right through a person's pants or skirt and into the leg. The drug can save a life in those moments while waiting for emergency response crews to arrive.
It was April 18 that Virginia State lawmakers passed legislation that requires every Virginia school to keep epinephrine on hand beginning with the 2012-2013 school year.
Many children may be allergic to something and not know about it.In January, a 7 year old Virginia girl died at a school after an allergic reaction to a peanut. The new law aims to protect children by providing them with immediate help. That child did not receive a shot of epinephrine, and by the time first responders got to her school, she had gone into cardiac arrest and could not be resuscitated, according to news reports.
EpiPens have already been ordered for Roanoke county schools. "There will be two doses of each in each school in the county," Davis said. "At least two people by law must be trained in addition to the school nurse in the use of EpiPens for one and recognizing the signs and symptoms of a severe allergic reaction."
