2012.02.08
Bill moves to help Va. students with allergic reactions
RICHMOND – Schools may be able to stock epinephrine pens to treat students suffering from severe allergic reactions under a bill that advanced this morning from a House committee.
The measure, HB1107, would permit school boards to develop policies for stocking the pens, which a school nurse or other trained school employee could administer in an emergency. The proposal would protect those employees from lawsuits and apply to students who have prescriptions on file or who show signs of an anaphylactic reaction.
A Chesterfield County girl died at her elementary school last month after suffering an allergic reaction, possibly from exposure to a peanut product. She did not have her own epinephrine pen at school. Advocates for children with allergies said measures such as HB1107 could prevent more children from dying.
Auto-injectable epinephrine, such as EpiPen, fights severe allergic reactions, such as to bees, peanuts or shellfish, by reducing swelling, lowering blood pressure and opening airways.
Del. Chris Stolle, R-Virginia Beach, a physician, said the risks of administering the pen are low.
“We are far better off having an EpiPen available to use,” he said this morning in response to questions from his counterparts on the House Education Committee. “If a school employee misdiagnoses a temper tantrum as an anaphylactic shock and administers the pen, the risks to the child will be very small.”
The committee approved the bill 17-1.
-Kathy Adams, The (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot
