mysticcat: Some allergists prescribe epi-pens for their shot patients. Most don't. I don't routinely. Apart from that, unless you have a food allergy or venom allergy you shouldn't need one-insert disclaimer here, ymmv.

Epinephrine potency degrades significantly after a year.

Oh I know, I will in no way cite you to a doctor or anything like that, or consider this evidence to do whatever, no worries. Good to know about the epi-pens though, I should probably toss those then. Thanks.

you gave birth to children who are ALLERGIC TO FOOD!
Of COURSE you are bad parents!
and your genetic material is weak, too.
You're only ducking Darwin at this point.

DON.MAC: EpiPens kill more kids than they save. Epinephrin can cause heart failure and often does. Get a kids heart rate up into the 200s from an allergy and then give them and adrenaline kicks it up even higher. These things should never be given if they kid can still communicate.

Wait, first you say it can kill kids, and then you say it should never be given to them. Which is it?

mysticcat: DON.MAC: GAT_00: DON.MAC: EpiPens kill more kids than they save. Epinephrin can cause heart failure and often does. Get a kids heart rate up into the 200s from an allergy and then give them and adrenaline kicks it up even higher. These things should never be given if they kid can still communicate.

Yeah, but I remember correctly the instructions when I was given one, you're only supposed to use it when you can no longer breathe as a last resort measure.

Thats too late...
If they are generally freaking out, waiting is better. If you can check their pulse rate and its going down, don't give it. If they start to get groggy or very swollen, then give it. Slight wheezing don't give it but if they are straining to breath, give it. If they are yelling at you to give them the shot, don't. If they can't fight, argue, talk or plead, you should give it to them. Watch pulse and breathing rates and watch for trends that show crashing. High BP isn't going to get any better with the shot. Since you don't have a watch with a second hand, compare it to yours.

They need to breath and have a pulse. Anaphylaxis can stop breathing and the adrenaline can stop the heart. If they are young and healthy the adrenaline probably won't kill them but if then again neither should the allergy.

Jesus H. Christ this is absolutely horrible, misleading information. I can say this, because I am a board certified, fellowship trained allergist. Stop talking out of your ass.

The number one risk factor for death due to anaphylaxis is lack of or delay of administration of epinephrine in the field. This has been a consistent finding in numerous studies. Waiting until you are moribund is a huge mistake.

The indications for epinephrine administration in a patient with documented allergy to peanut, tree nuts, or bee venom are difficulty breathing, difficulty swallowing, or lightheadedness and dizziness with or without a documented exposure to a known trigger.

Epinephrine administration is exceedingly safe in patients without significant cardiac disease or other atherosclerotic disease.

Now STFU and go away

This.

Nabb1: For the most part, the medical profession still understands very little about food allergies. But it may be all those years of parents waiting too long to introduce certain foods to kids has caused this. When I was really small, I was allergic to a lot of things I can eat now (tomatoes, fish) but could eat things I can't anymore (bananas). It's very strange.

Yup,

Nabb1: Elandriel: Nabb1: Banana's Foster.

Who is banana, and why does he have a foster?

Not sure why I put that apostrophe in there. I need more coffee, I suppose.

Dude! Its a Brennan's speciality and delicious desert.

The recipe

your breeder blog sucks.

The number one child health menace in the country: parents

EpiPen - saved my butt twice now. I never leave home without one!

JackieRabbit: The number one child health menace in the country: "informed" parents

ftfy

coco ebert: Can someone explain what's with all the allergies with kids these days? I don't remember anything like this when I was a child. Sure, kids had allergies here and there but nothing to this extent.

Most pediatricians agree that the overabudance of children with allergies is self report from parents not from confirmed allergy tests. Sure there are kids with life threatening allergies (my son has a prescribed epi for a shellfish allergy) but the vast majority of kids with allergies have never had a confirmed allergy test and just have parents who think it is trendy to have a kid with allergies.

I haven't seen the ad so I won't comment one way or another, but having an epi on hand gives a lot more peace of mind if we are traveling in regions where the nearest hospital is too far away. Epi is last resort. If you can get to an emergency room in a reasonable amount of time that is first stop, not the epi. Even after the epi you will still need to go to the doc.

I miss the free peanuts on planes

Weaver95: DON.MAC: EpiPens kill more kids than they save. Epinephrin can cause heart failure and often does. Get a kids heart rate up into the 200s from an allergy and then give them and adrenaline kicks it up even higher. These things should never be given if they kid can still communicate.

but...Left4Dead 2 said that large shots of adrenaline are GOOD FOR ME!!!!!!

Max Payne taught me that after I've been shot several dozen times to just take painkillers from random bottles I find and I'll be all better.

Guidette Frankentits: JackieRabbit: The number one child health menace in the country: "informed" parents

ftfy

Misinformed is more like it, wouldn't you say?

Vodka Zombie: I'm glad I don't have kids. They really seem to fark you up.

We're also glad you don't have kids.

To those patients who have EpiPens on their person "just in case"- check the expiration date. Awesome that you haven't needed it, but go ahead and set yourself a reminder on your smartphone when it's about to expire. My mom needs 2 in case 1 won't do, and she'd carried around expired ones for a year or so before she noticed.

DON.MAC: GAT_00:
Also, do those go bad? Like, do I have to go get new ones every year even though I've never needed to touch the old ones?

The chemicals break down over time. The expire date should be at least 2 years away unless you bought it on sale.

2 years expire date means that something like 95% of the drug is still active after the expire date if its in bad conditions (too cool or warm). If it got very hot (glove box) or very cold (ice fishing cabin) then it could be not so good much sooner (and read the fine print) or inert.

There is also the risk that a preservative only works for so long as well.

If you kept this stuff in your wine cellar, it could be good for 50 years. The only way to be sure is to know what all the stuff means on the small print that the doctor gets to see, not the stuff folded 200 times in the package.

Actually, the expiration date being 2 years is not due to the medicine expiring, but due to the propellant used to fire the needle expiring.

jfbnr24: coco ebert: Can someone explain what's with all the allergies with kids these days? I don't remember anything like this when I was a child. Sure, kids had allergies here and there but nothing to this extent.

Most pediatricians agree that the overabudance of children with allergies is self report from parents not from confirmed allergy tests. Sure there are kids with life threatening allergies (my son has a prescribed epi for a shellfish allergy) but the vast majority of kids with allergies have never had a confirmed allergy test and just have parents who think it is trendy to have a kid with allergies.

I haven't seen the ad so I won't comment one way or another, but having an epi on hand gives a lot more peace of mind if we are traveling in regions where the nearest hospital is too far away. Epi is last resort. If you can get to an emergency room in a reasonable amount of time that is first stop, not the epi. Even after the epi you will still need to go to the doc.

My ex-wife went on a kick because she we SURE our son was allergic to something. Rather than have him tested she just "figured out" what it was. For awhile I got yelled at when I gave him chocolate (we have shared custody). Eventually she had to concede that he wasn't allergic to it and it was gluten. I didn't hold back the bread so then it HAD to be tomatoes, but only from a can. This went on for awhile with several foods. She finally had him tested and it turns out the only thing he is allergic to is her cat. Which she still has to this day.

JackieRabbit: Misinformed is more like it, wouldn't you say?

shhhhh!!!! No parent is misinformed! Every parent is a child expert with a degree in Child-ology. You don't want to get sued for making someone feel like they are not special now, would you?

Vodka Zombie: I'm glad I don't have kids. They really seem to fark you up.

Had to share - from Harlan Coben's new book, "Stay Close":

"At the table to her left, a potpourri of new moms - sleep deprived, stained clothes, deliriously happy, all with baby in two - were yapping away....Megan smiled, wishing that she could be them again. She had loved the new-mommy stage, but like so many other stages of life, you look back at it now and wonder when they fixed your lobotomy."

I still don't see how this helps people with allergies.

coco ebert: It's strange. I wonder if preservatives in food products have something to do with this? In Turkey, where I'm from, there isn't really this allergy problem with kids as far as I've heard anecdotally. People generally don't use readymade foods but prepare food with basic ingredients.

They think in less developed nations is that there is so much bacteria that the immune system is fighting that instead of overreacting to food.
/Had a couple of nephews that spent a year in mexico. Allergies cleared up.
//They got back before the cartels decided to start killng everyone in sight.

So the problem is that the commercial creates a false sense of security about the product?

Gee, I'm glad there are people valiantly trying to protect me from the occasional rogue advertiser stretching the truth about their product.

Any thoughts from Airborne or HFCS?

Gyrfalcon: However, the mom who wrote that article sounds like SHE needs a prescription for a good antipsychotic along with her kid's EpiPen. She is working her way up to some weapons-grade paranoia with her constant vigilance and continual awareness. No wonder that poor kid is allergic to everything. I can imagine him/her going through life and coughing or sneezing "Oh my god, dear! Did you eat something? Is your throat swelling? Can you breathe? Are you having a reaction?" Well if I wasn't, mom, I sure am now!

It's not something you become allergic to. It's something you're born with. There's generally reckoned to be a connection with asthma, so her concern about wheezing might have been that the kid got worked up and had some sort of asthma attack.

Thing is, avoiding nuts isn't too tricky, once you know what you're doing. My wife and I always baked before the kids came along, so making our own cakes is easy as you know what's in it. As a rule eat at places that prepare their own food as they know what's in everything (also, better food anyway). And yeah, we always take something for birthday parties.

DON.MAC: Nabb1: I was allergic to a lot of things I can eat now (tomatoes, fish) but could eat things I can't anymore (bananas)

There was a thread a few days ago that someone was allergic to a spice. People aren't allergic to compounds that are that complex. They are allergic to proteins that happen to be a part of it. Its the same with you and bananas. There is a chemical (most likely a protein) that sets you off. Same with cats but there are 3 well know proteins in their saliva that drive people nuts and people who are allergic to cats will have a sensitivity to one of the 3 and their reactions will depend on which of the 3 it is. With cats you might find one that isn't a problem but with bananas, there are about 6 being sold and all the other billions are clones so any one type will have the same proteins. If you can find the protein and it can be isolated, you can get a simple test to verify that is causing the problem. Once that is identified, then you can try de-sensitivity procedures which used to be "allergy shots" but now can consist of a few other things such as drops you put under your tongue every morning. Just watch it because these techniques that do work have also be been used in homeopathy (which is 99.999+% bunk unless they accidentally isolate something your sensitive to in amounts large enough to work as an allergy shot)

I have no idea what metric you're applying for "complex compound" but it needs calibration. You're right about proteins frequently being allergy triggers, but you're wrong about proteins being in any way simple compounds. You're talking about a meticulously folded macromolecule constructed from up to millions of atoms. It may only be one component of a system, but a protein is an exceedingly complex molecule, and it's chemical sequence as well as folded shape contribute to its capability to generate an allergic response.

Why? It's a byproduct of the parents' poor genetics.

Gyrfalcon: ImThinkin: And this just went green? Really? The ad is irresponsible and sends a message that could kill a child if the parent isn't informed enough. And any parent, when faced with a new and unfamiliar condition, could misinterpret that type of ad.

If it outright stated what it strongly implies, the company would probably be cited by the FDA and forced to pull the ad.

True.

However, the mom who wrote that article sounds like SHE needs a prescription for a good antipsychotic along with her kid's EpiPen. She is working her way up to some weapons-grade paranoia with her constant vigilance and continual awareness. No wonder that poor kid is allergic to everything. I can imagine him/her going through life and coughing or sneezing "Oh my god, dear! Did you eat something? Is your throat swelling? Can you breathe? Are you having a reaction?" Well if I wasn't, mom, I sure am now!

Ok, not specifically directed at you, but this attitude is plain uninformed. Until your child is old enough to learn how to stay away from the triggers, you have to be vigilant. It really can be a matter of life and death.
CSS, and I don't care if you buy it or not.
My friend's son went into anaphylactic shock at age 2. Two epi-pens by the EMTs at the county fair they were attending. Of course, he then got tested for EVERYTHING. Turns out the peanuts being roasted at the fair set him off. He's also allergic to soy and dairy. He's going to be 15 soon. Apparently, they re-took all the tests and isolated the protiens he's allergic to- the allergist at Johns Hopkins said he could expect 2 reactions every year, an average for his soy patients. So he faces the prospect of 911 and Self-injections until he dies.

And as far as killing off the weak- he's a star hockey goalie, and an accomplished concert pianist. He's involved in the UM program for master musicians, and Peabody begged for him to come there, free, at the age of 13.
Our world would be poorer without him. He ain't weak.

Sorry, when it hits close to home, I get a bit pissy. I'll agree with the snowflake thing, though, Munchausen's by-proxy is a helluva high, apparently.

Also, I know, welcome to Fark.

This reminds me that my epipen is expired and I need to get a new one.

I probably don't need it, but I am allergic to bee-sting, and I'd rather not find out how bad my next reaction is going to be while hiking alone in the woods without something handy.

Nabb1: Anyone with severe allergies to food or bee stings can use an Epi pen.

The problem is the shocking number of parents who grossly overreact and turn any food allergy, no matter how minor, into a severe one. The number of people with severe food allergies is actually quite small.

teeny: So the problem is that the commercial creates a false sense of security about the product?

That's what a rational and logical person would think. But read this part:


It ignores the most basic and front line defense against food allergies, strict avoidance. Frankly, I'm glad it was pulled.

Some angry mommies think the ad is making them look like they don't care about their crotch droppings enough by ditching avoidance for an emergency medication you probably should have anyway if you have a child with life-threatening allergies.

This blog is why we can't have nice things.

mysticcat: DON.MAC: GAT_00: DON.MAC: EpiPens kill more kids than they save. Epinephrin can cause heart failure and often does. Get a kids heart rate up into the 200s from an allergy and then give them and adrenaline kicks it up even higher. These things should never be given if they kid can still communicate.

Yeah, but I remember correctly the instructions when I was given one, you're only supposed to use it when you can no longer breathe as a last resort measure.

Thats too late...
If they are generally freaking out, waiting is better. If you can check their pulse rate and its going down, don't give it. If they start to get groggy or very swollen, then give it. Slight wheezing don't give it but if they are straining to breath, give it. If they are yelling at you to give them the shot, don't. If they can't fight, argue, talk or plead, you should give it to them. Watch pulse and breathing rates and watch for trends that show crashing. High BP isn't going to get any better with the shot. Since you don't have a watch with a second hand, compare it to yours.

They need to breath and have a pulse. Anaphylaxis can stop breathing and the adrenaline can stop the heart. If they are young and healthy the adrenaline probably won't kill them but if then again neither should the allergy.

Jesus H. Christ this is absolutely horrible, misleading information. I can say this, because I am a board certified, fellowship trained allergist. Stop talking out of your ass.

The number one risk factor for death due to anaphylaxis is lack of or delay of administration of epinephrine in the field. This has been a consistent finding in numerous studies. Waiting until you are moribund is a huge mistake.

The indications for epinephrine administration in a patient with documented allergy to peanut, tree nuts, or bee venom are difficulty breathing, difficulty swallowing, or lightheadedness and dizziness with or without a documented exposure to a known trigger.

Epinephrine administration i ...

As a parent of a child with a sever peanut allergy....thank you

Snarfangel: I still don't see how this helps people with allergies.
[ecx.images-amazon.com image 300x300]

After you use it, you are in too much pain to worry that you can't breathe.

Why do we insist on interfering with natural selection? We are diminishing the human race at an alarming rate by keeping these inferior individuals alive.
Nothing personal - you lost the gene pool. Go die somewhere else.

Let's just spray the country with peanut dust and get this shiat over once and for all?

While I will never claim to have a food allergy anymore I do have a sensitivity to caffeine. It used to be an allergy. If I ingested caffeine I would get hives, dizzy, sometimes through up, and always have horrible diarrhea from it (soda, chocolate, tea, etc. all did this). I avoided it, grew up, and at 17 decided to be "cool" and have a latter with my friends with no reactions. I thought "Hey, this is awesome!" so I drank caffeine a bunch in college (I still miss Red Bull). Anyway, during that time I was suffering from Hashimotos thyroiditis. Once I started on the levothyroxin to control the hypothyroidism is caused I am extremely sensitive to caffeine. About the most I can handle is decaff coffee or chocolate which still makes me jittery. If I have caffeine now I start shaking, sometimes have anxiety attacks, get sick to my stomach (sometimes vomit), increased heart rate (to the point of being uncomfortable, but not dangerous), and get severe headaches that start within a few minutes and last hours after the caffeine is absorbed. I can tell within minutes if I've had caffeine of any significant quantity.

Have no idea what causes it and no doctor has been able to tell me why it happened because they've never seen my symptoms in other people. Luckily caffeine is pretty damn easy to avoid. My cousin's kid has peanut allergies that is really scary. He hasn't had an attack of 5 years, but when he did the epipen worked just long enough to get him to the hospital before his throat totally closed up. It was at a bake sale and the mom said there were no peanuts in the cookies she brought, but what she didn't do was wash out her mixing bowl between making peanut butter cookies and sugar cookies. I would classify that as a real allergy, unlike my mother-in-law and grandma who both claim to have peanut allergies yet eat at Asian restaurants without even asking or caring if they use peanut oil.

farkeruk: Gyrfalcon: However, the mom who wrote that article sounds like SHE needs a prescription for a good antipsychotic along with her kid's EpiPen. She is working her way up to some weapons-grade paranoia with her constant vigilance and continual awareness. No wonder that poor kid is allergic to everything. I can imagine him/her going through life and coughing or sneezing "Oh my god, dear! Did you eat something? Is your throat swelling? Can you breathe? Are you having a reaction?" Well if I wasn't, mom, I sure am now!

It's not something you become allergic to. It's something you're born with. There's generally reckoned to be a connection with asthma, so her concern about wheezing might have been that the kid got worked up and had some sort of asthma attack.

Thing is, avoiding nuts isn't too tricky, once you know what you're doing. My wife and I always baked before the kids came along, so making our own cakes is easy as you know what's in it. As a rule eat at places that prepare their own food as they know what's in everything (also, better food anyway). And yeah, we always take something for birthday parties.

I agree with you here but the problem is there is some slack in "consistant" labeling of products. Im a parent i can read and know what foods to help my child avoid, just give me the tools to do my job and her job better

Guidette Frankentits: teeny: So the problem is that the commercial creates a false sense of security about the product?

That's what a rational and logical person would think. But read this part:


It ignores the most basic and front line defense against food allergies, strict avoidance. Frankly, I'm glad it was pulled.

Some angry mommies think the ad is making them look like they don't care about their crotch droppings enough by ditching avoidance for an emergency medication you probably should have anyway if you have a child with life-threatening allergies.

This blog is why we can't have nice things.

I'm thinking your reading comprehension level is why we can't have nice things.
Blogger just worries that stupid people will take the commercial as, 'I should stop worrying so much because drugs will fix any problems. The manufacturer even portrayed this in a commercial, ffs! They'd get their assess sued off for false advertising, amirite?'

So blogger is being nanny-state-ish, a different kind of helicopter-ing than you described.

GUYS. STOP IT. THE MILLIONS OF PARENTS WHO TURN TO FARK FOR EXPERT ADVICE ABOUT HOW TO TREAT THEIR CHILDREN'S ALLERGIES MIGHT GET THE WRONG INFORMATION.

12 Inch Pianist: Why do we insist on interfering with natural selection? We are diminishing the human race at an alarming rate by keeping these inferior individuals alive.
Nothing personal - you lost the gene pool. Go die somewhere else.

So another heartless bastard willing to write off a 7 year old thru no fault of her own...damn i knew humanity was doomed now i know why

TheMysticS: I'm thinking your reading comprehension level is why we can't have nice things.
Blogger just worries that stupid people will take the commercial as, 'I should stop worrying so much because drugs will fix any problems. The manufacturer even portrayed this in a commercial, ffs! They'd get their assess sued off for false advertising, amirite?'

So blogger is being nanny-state-ish, a different kind of helicopter-ing than you described.

No I had it right the first time.

hailin: While I will never claim to have a food allergy anymore I do have a sensitivity to caffeine. It used to be an allergy. If I ingested caffeine I would get hives, dizzy, sometimes through up, and always have horrible diarrhea from it (soda, chocolate, tea, etc. all did this). I avoided it, grew up, and at 17 decided to be "cool" and have a latter with my friends with no reactions. I thought "Hey, this is awesome!" so I drank caffeine a bunch in college (I still miss Red Bull). Anyway, during that time I was suffering from Hashimotos thyroiditis. Once I started on the levothyroxin to control the hypothyroidism is caused I am extremely sensitive to caffeine. About the most I can handle is decaff coffee or chocolate which still makes me jittery. If I have caffeine now I start shaking, sometimes have anxiety attacks, get sick to my stomach (sometimes vomit), increased heart rate (to the point of being uncomfortable, but not dangerous), and get severe headaches that start within a few minutes and last hours after the caffeine is absorbed. I can tell within minutes if I've had caffeine of any significant quantity.

Hey! Just so you know, I am pretty similar... when I was younger I could drink caffeine but it always affected me more than most people. I'm now hypothyroid from having radiation therapy to the head/neck and on levothyroxin, and I have had to cut out all caffeine completely as it gives me bad shakes, dangerous irregular heartbeat, and sometimes bad headaches and/or anxiety attacks.

So yeah, I don't have caffeine anymore.

mysticcat: esus H. Christ this is absolutely horrible, misleading information. I can say this, because I am a board certified, fellowship trained allergist. Stop talking out of your ass.

The number one risk factor for death due to anaphylaxis is lack of or delay of administration of epinephrine in the field. This has been a consistent finding in numerous studies. Waiting until you are moribund is a huge mistake.

The indications for epinephrine administration in a patient with documented allergy to peanut, tree nuts, or bee venom are difficulty breathing, difficulty swallowing, or lightheadedness and dizziness with or without a documented exposure to a known trigger.

Epinephrine administration is exceedingly safe in patients without significant cardiac disease or other atherosclerotic disease.

Now STFU and go away

THIS!!!!

What is worse, slight chance of precipitating a MI, or cardiac arrest from anaphylaxis? I've never been denied orders for Epi 1:1000 for any patient in anaphylaxis or even status asthmaticus, in any age group, even in patients with a history of cardiac disease. Granted, I have equipment and better meds at my disposal should problems arise, than the lay person, but haven't seen any issues in 10 years.

/ Street Paramedic for 10 years, Remote Industrial Paramedic for 2 years
// I said Paramedic....... not "The ambulance", ambulance driver or ambulance attendant
/// Never wait to call for EMS, it makes my job harder to treat you effectively