Anaphylaxis and school life

By Pippa Duncan

If your child is affected by anaphylaxis - a severe allergic reaction - then how well she is monitored at school is obviously important to you. Here are some of the precautionary steps you can take.

Around one in 200 children is allergic to the prime anaphylactic trigger, peanuts, which means there's probably at least one child in every school who is affected. The good news for parents is that schools are becoming increasingly aware of the problem. David Reading, director of the Anaphylaxis Campaign says: "Anaphylaxis is serious, but definitely manageable. The vast majority of children affected are in mainstream schools thanks to good communication between parents, schools, teachers, doctors and education authorities. With sound precautionary measures and support from the staff, school life may continue as normal for all concerned."

Talk to your head teacher
Food at school
Visiting friends

Talk to your head teacher
As anaphylaxis is an acute reaction, it needs urgent medical attention so it's important that all members of staff are aware that your child will need immediate help and that volunteers will be needed to administer it.

Ask your child's head teacher what the school's policy is and what support it can offer your child. You can suggest drawing up a plan of action yourself, in consultation with the school and your GP. The plan should include:

A warning to staff and pupils not to share or swap snacks or food
An explanation to all staff by a medical expert, such as GP or school nurse, about anaphylaxis, the symptoms and how to give treatment
Details of where the medication - an EpiPen or Anapen containing a shot of adrenaline - is kept
What should be done in an emergency - how to administer the adrenaline and when to call for an ambulance

Many schools now draw up an individual document for a child who is at risk which covers the above issues as well as details of staff professional indemnity, in the unlikely event that something goes wrong. This document, or protocol, is agreed by the parents, school, family GP, and local education authority. A sample copy of this, and guidance for schools and parents can be obtained from the Anaphylaxis Campaign.

Food at school
A packed lunch rather than school meals is the safer option unless the school can ensure the meals are safe for allergic children. Make sure that your child knows not to accept or take food or snacks from other children, however harmless they may seem. All staff, including the dinner ladies, should know that your child must not eat school food or other children's lunches. Some sufferers have more severe reactions than others, when just the smell of the trigger food can have a bad reaction, so make sure staff are fully aware of the level of your child's allergy.

Teachers of classes which use food, such as cookery, craft or science lessons, should also be fully aware of the problem. For peace of mind you will probably want to provide packed lunches or snacks for any school trips or for after-school activities.

Visiting friends
Make sure that before your child visits any friends you inform the child's parent of your child's allergy and they are aware that she will have an adverse reaction to a trigger food. As with teachers, write down for other parents what anaphylaxis is, what the treatment is and how to administer it. Your child should always have an EpiPen with her.

If you are at all worried that someone else won't be as vigilant about food as you would like, give your child her own snack to take with her and decline an invitation for her to stay for a meal.

Pippa Duncan is a journalist and writer specialising in health and parenting issues. She is married with two children, aged five and three, and lives in Richmond, Surrey.

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