Two Nevada students have received life-saving shots of epinephrine since the passing of the state’s stock epinephrine bill in 2013.
According to news reporting by KTVN news, a student in the 8th grade at a northern Nevada school had tried a variety of foods during a cooking class in mid-February. He began to have difficulty breathing, trouble swallowing and a rash. Staff called 911 and a school nurse administered a stock auto-injector to the student. By the time the ambulance arrived, the symptoms had subsided.
“This student had no history of allergies, but his symptoms were sudden and severe,” Robin Reinders, the nurse who administered the shot, told the TV reporter. “I’m just glad we had the medication right there or things could have turned out differently.”
Just two days later, another student in the same school district began experiencing symptoms of anaphylaxis during lunch. Staff called 911 and administered the auto-injector. The student made a full recovery.
Cases like these highlight the importance of “stock epi” legislation, which permits or requires epinephrine auto-injectors to be kept at schools for use in an allergic emergency. Aside from protecting students who forget or misplace their auto-injector, stock epinephrine can save a life when a reaction occurs in an individual with no prior history of allergic reactions. Studies have found that in the U.S., 20 to 25 percent of cases of anaphylaxis at school involve children who had not previously been known to have an allergy.
Source: Epi-Pens Saving Lives on School Campuses
