Back to School and Allergies

That time of year has come already! The first day of school. While it can be a very exciting time in many ways, it can also be a time of worry and fear for parents of children with food allergies (including me!). On average, every classroom has about 2 or more children with a food allergy.

Where do we see reactions occur? 46.6% of anaphylactic events occur in the classroom, 19.9% in the cafeteria, and about 9.7% on the playground. Talk to your school about procedures set in place. The school nurse is also a great asset as medications tend to be kept near them during the school year. Different rules like no eating on the bus, separate safe eating areas, and no food items being brought in for birthdays or treats help protect our food allergy children. 

Most schools require a new set of epinephrine autoinjectors along with a food allergy action plan. Be sure to find out what they require before the school year because it can often lead to delays in getting into the classroom. As one can imagine, August has the highest amount of epinephrine prescriptions sent in by doctors. Save yourself the hassle by trying to take care of it earlier in the summer! 

What are some tips and tricks you have used in the past to help educate your child's teacher about allergies? Let us know in the comments below!

Statistics and information used for this blog post can be found on the FARE website at foodallergy.org.