Parents of children who are sensitive to specific foods are advised to have an auto- injector on hand to administer a dose of epinephrine in an emergency, to arrest any severe reaction. A survey, however, postulated that parents are often uncomfortable using the device even when they’ve been trained to use it.
Food allergy influences 6% of children. A severe allergic reaction or anaphylaxis, is a potentially life-threatening event and appropriate treatment involves injecting epinephrine, available in convenient pre-loaded systems such as EpiPen.
The devices only require a trigger to be activated to administer the injection into the thigh.
The findings are based on a survey of 240 parents of children with a doctor-diagnosed food allergy and a prescription for EpiPen however, only 121 out of the total responded.
Considering 121 parents, 91% reported prior EpiPen training and 18% had to use the EpiPen for a severe allergic reaction in their child in the past.
40% had a history of anaphylaxis, 63% of children had a food allergy to two or more foods. The most commonly reported food allergy was to peanuts and tree nuts - two allergens known to cause serious allergic reactions.
Thus, the results concluded that neither a history of anaphylaxis nor prior EpiPen training correlated significantly with increased parental comfort levels in using the potentially life-saving device.
