General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Mom Demands School Go Peanut-Free For Allergic Child [View all]thucythucy
(9,097 posts)then the situation needs to be addressed. But to say kids "wither" in special ed. seems a bit strange to me, especially coming across two posts with this exact same wording in the space of about thirty seconds. Makes me wonder where this comes from.
An epi-pen is necessary, but it might not be sufficient. I'm allergic to bee stings, and carry epi-pens with me where ever I go once the bees are out. What I've been told is that, if stung, I need to inject myself, and I then have fifteen or so minutes to get to an ER, where I get an injection of cortisone (and more epiniphrine), and where I'm kept under observation for a couple of hours until the doctors think it's safe for me to leave. Granted, I have an especially potent allergy (the last time I was stung I nearly died), but it sounds like this kid is in roughly the same boat.
This means he might well have to use an epi-pen every day, call an ambulence every day, go to the ER every day. Doesn't sound like much of an option to me.
Also, please bear in mind that epiniphrine is a pretty potent drug. Off hand I wouldn't want to have to use it every day, especially not on a child.
I think, from just the information we have here, that this is a very tough problem, and will be difficult to resolve. Clearly, not everyone is going to be happy, no matter what the solution.
I feel bad for this kid. Life really does suck, sometimes.