My 12 year old son, Tiernan, recently had an anaphylactic reaction to peanuts. The doctor set us up with the EpiPen, and we have 2 at the moment.
Fortunately, he is old enough to avoid peanuts fairly well. They still joke at church about the time he quizzed his Sunday School teacher, demanding to know if she was absolutely sure there were no peanuts in the LEMONADE she was offering!
This exposure was from a Snickers bar in a special "holiday" wrapper that he picked up at the vet's office. The wrapper made it harder to recognize, and looked enough like a safe candy bar that even his Dad didn't see it for the tricksy tricksy evil that it was. Tiernan didn't actually swallow any, he spit the first bite out, luckily. Still, his lips and his poor face swelled right up. Scary!
So, even though we have managed to keep him from getting "peanutted" for so long that his pediatrician thought he must have outgrown his allergy (since there haven't been any reactions since he was a toddler) it's apparently going to always be an issue.
So, these are my questions...
How many EpiPens should I keep around? (I have 2 now, but can refill them until I have as many as we need to feel comfortable.)
Where are the best places to stash them? Obviously my purse and the diaper bag are good, since he's usually around one or the other. But, any where else you can recommend?
Since we homeschool, he's with one of us a lot more of the time than kids in school would be. But I would still like him to have one with him when he's out on his bike, or at someone else's house. I've seen a few different carriers, but they aren't as convenient as tossing one in a purse. Either I need to get him to carry a manpurse everywhere (you know, like Indiana Jones) or I'd love to find something like an ankle holster. He'd wear that everywhere! Have you seen anything like that?
At his age, would he be able to administer the shot himself if needed? When do kids manage that on their own?
Is there anything else I should be doing/planning/considering?
I already ordered a medic alert necklace for him, it should come soon. He and I looked at all the options out there and picked one he liked and would will happy to wear 24/7. It looks like a military dog tag.
We also saw shoe and keychains, should I order extra ones for him to carry in case the first one isn't obvious? I have considered tattooing his forehead with the relevant information, but I'm concerned it will make it harder for him to get dates. And no dates = No grandchildren, so that's no good!
Like I said earlier, he's with the family far more than he isn't, and he's a lot older than many kids doing this for the first time. So, we are very fortunate. But it still scares me, and I want to get all my ducks in a row as quickly as possible...
Fortunately, he is old enough to avoid peanuts fairly well. They still joke at church about the time he quizzed his Sunday School teacher, demanding to know if she was absolutely sure there were no peanuts in the LEMONADE she was offering!
This exposure was from a Snickers bar in a special "holiday" wrapper that he picked up at the vet's office. The wrapper made it harder to recognize, and looked enough like a safe candy bar that even his Dad didn't see it for the tricksy tricksy evil that it was. Tiernan didn't actually swallow any, he spit the first bite out, luckily. Still, his lips and his poor face swelled right up. Scary!
So, even though we have managed to keep him from getting "peanutted" for so long that his pediatrician thought he must have outgrown his allergy (since there haven't been any reactions since he was a toddler) it's apparently going to always be an issue.
So, these are my questions...
How many EpiPens should I keep around? (I have 2 now, but can refill them until I have as many as we need to feel comfortable.)
Where are the best places to stash them? Obviously my purse and the diaper bag are good, since he's usually around one or the other. But, any where else you can recommend?
Since we homeschool, he's with one of us a lot more of the time than kids in school would be. But I would still like him to have one with him when he's out on his bike, or at someone else's house. I've seen a few different carriers, but they aren't as convenient as tossing one in a purse. Either I need to get him to carry a manpurse everywhere (you know, like Indiana Jones) or I'd love to find something like an ankle holster. He'd wear that everywhere! Have you seen anything like that?
At his age, would he be able to administer the shot himself if needed? When do kids manage that on their own?
Is there anything else I should be doing/planning/considering?
I already ordered a medic alert necklace for him, it should come soon. He and I looked at all the options out there and picked one he liked and would will happy to wear 24/7. It looks like a military dog tag.
We also saw shoe and keychains, should I order extra ones for him to carry in case the first one isn't obvious? I have considered tattooing his forehead with the relevant information, but I'm concerned it will make it harder for him to get dates. And no dates = No grandchildren, so that's no good!
Like I said earlier, he's with the family far more than he isn't, and he's a lot older than many kids doing this for the first time. So, we are very fortunate. But it still scares me, and I want to get all my ducks in a row as quickly as possible...