Politics & Government

New Law Allows Nurses Access to Epinephrine to Combat Allergic Reactions in Schools

Life-saving epi pens will put parents' minds at ease while their children are in school.

In December 2010, a seventh-grade girl died after she had a reaction to food she at at Chicago's Edison Regional Gifted Center. Today, the chances of that happening are lower thanks to a new law signed by Gov. Pat Quinn Monday.

House Bill 3294, sponsored by Elmhurst resident and state Rep. Christ Nybo (R-41st), will give school nurses access to life-saving epinephrine for severe allergic reactions. 

“This is a critical measure that allows our schools to be proactive in an instance that could mean life or death of a student,” Nybo said. “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.”

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Nybo partnered with Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan on drafting the epi pen legislation. The law allows school nurses in public and private schools throughout Illinois to administer epinephrine through auto-injectors, or “epi pens,” to students who they believe are suffering from anaphylactic shock, a deadly allergic reaction to food or other allergies. The legislation also allows schools to keep epi pens for students who are authorized to self-administer the dosage during a reaction, and for students who have a medical plan in place to allow any school personnel to administer the epi pen.

According to the Journal of Pediatrics, one in four cases of childhood anaphylaxis occurs in children who were not previously diagnosed with a food or other severe allergy. The Journal also found that 25 percent of first reactions among children allergic to peanuts or tree nuts occurred while they were in a school setting.

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