School Nurses Now Able to Administer Epinephrine for Allergic Reactions

A new Illinois law allows school nurses in public and private schools to administer epinephrine to students they believe are experiencing a severe allergic reaction.

Gov. Pat Quinn signed House Bill 3294 into law Monday at Edison Regional Gifted Center in Chicago's northwest side. In December, a seventh-grader at Edison died from a severe allergic reaction to food she ate at school.

The legislation allows nurses to use epi-pens, or epinephrine auto-injectors, on students they believe are suffering from anaphylactic shock, a deadly allergic reaction to food or other
allergies.

It also allows schools to keep epi-pens for students authorized to self-administer the dosage. For students with a medical plan in place, any school personnel is authorized to administer the dosage. 

“This is a critical measure that allows our schools to be proactive in an instance that could mean life or death of a student,” said Rep. Chris Nybo (R-Lombard) in a release. “Many children, including my own, suffer from severe food allergies and we must do everything in our power to protect students with known and unknown allergies.”

According to the Journal of Pediatrics, 25 percent of kids who experience anaphylaxis were not previously diagnosed with a food or other severe allergy, the release said. 

Also interesting: 25 percent of kids who experience a first allergic reaction to peanuts or tree nuts were in a school setting when it happened.