HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY — As of July 1, a new law is now in effect to help students with severe allergies.
These allergies face significant challenges in school settings.
“According to the Florida Department of Health, approximately 76,000 students in Florida have these types of life-threatening allergies. For these students, the prompt use of an epinephrine autoinjector can be life-saving,” said state Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith of District 17 at a Senate Committee Meeting in April.
WATCH: New law now in effect that requires Florida school staff to be trained to use EpiPens
Research shows that number is growing.
“Anaphylaxis is a severe acute reaction that can be life-threatening in some cases to an allergen," said Dr. Vanessa Velazquez-Ruiz, who works in emergency medicine for Orlando Health.
She’s seeing more allergies firsthand.
“The cases of patients with allergic reactions to many things are increasing, in particular kids,” said Velazquez-Ruiz.
That’s why this new legislation is so important.
It requires each public and charter school to provide specific training for staff on how to properly respond to anaphylaxis for students in kindergarten through eighth grade, teaching them how to use emergency epinephrine and making sure school personnel are prepared to administer EpiPens. This goes for anytime students are on campus, including any before and after school activities.
“It requires an adequate number of school personnel to undergo critical but simple and straightforward training on the administration of emergency epinephrine, or EpiPens… It’s mostly about preventing tragedies and saving lives,” said Guillermo Smith.
“I think having a protocol established, trained personnel that can identify and treat a severe allergic reaction or anaphylaxis is going to be a game changer and save lives,” said Velazquez-Ruiz.
To make sure this passed, Sheri Isler, a Florida mom, spoke at a Senate committee meeting in April with her son Lincoln.
“He is anaphylactic to dairy, peas, chick peas, and lentils,” said Isler.
She’s been fighting for this change for a few years since she found out the staff at Lincoln’s school could not administer an EpiPen, should he have an allergic reaction.
“I panicked and I told her that he would be dead before an ambulance arrived because his allergic reaction is his airway. His throat starts closing immediately,” said Sheri.
“I’ve needed an EpiPen four times to save my life. Even though I can use it myself, I’ve needed help because my airway closes really fast,” said her son, Lincoln.
Before this law, most school staff across the state would not be able to administer the EpiPen.
When it comes to anaphylaxis, every minute is critical because not responding to a severe allergic reaction fast enough could be the difference between life and death.
“It is very important, the outcome of a patient that is having a severe allergic reaction or anaphylaxis can change immediately after administering the right treatment,” said Velazquez-Ruiz.
It’s important to remember that anything can be an allergen, from food to bug bites, and you can have a reaction at any time, even if you’ve been in contact with the allergen before without any issues.
“The patient is going to have either a rash, and trouble breathing, trouble swallowing, throwing up. And even in severe occasions, they can have low blood pressure and they can experience dizziness and even pass out,” said Velazquez-Ruiz.
