Developing an Allergy Emergency Plan with your Family
“While allergic reactions to food can usually be avoided with careful management, sometimes allergens can be consumed unintentionally. It is vital that your family, friends, care-givers and teachers are aware of what needs to happen should an allergic reaction occur. We share some tips to help you and your family develop a food allergy emergency plan and ensure that you are well prepared to deal with an allergic reaction.
Developing an Allergy Emergency Plan with your Family
While allergic reactions to food can usually be avoided with careful management, sometimes allergens can be consumed unintentionally. It is vital that your family, friends, care-givers and teachers are aware of what needs to happen should an allergic reaction occur. We share some tips to help you and your family develop a food allergy emergency plan to ensure that you are well prepared if a reaction occurs.
Get your doctor to sign off on your plan
Ensure you get an Anaphylaxis Management Plan signed by your allergy specialist, paediatrician, or GP. The Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy has a great allergy emergency plan template that you can download. This document will outline mild, moderate, and severe symptoms, and what to do when each of these develop. When creating an emergency plan, it is also important to customise it to the specific needs of the individual, the specific food allergies, and family circumstances.
An allergic reaction resulting in anaphylaxis can be severe and life threatening due to effects on the airways and circulation. Adrenaline is a natural hormone released in response to stress and can also be found in Epi-pen adrenaline auto-injectors. When injected, adrenaline helps to rapidly reverse the effects of anaphylaxis by reducing throat swelling, opening the airways, and maintaining heart function and blood pressure. This is why an allergic reaction should always be treated as a medical emergency and your Epi-Pen must always be handy whether at home or out. It is also vital that everyone knows where this Epi-pen is at all times.
Make sure your plan is easily accessible
Keep your plan in a place where others can find it, and make sure they understand what to do in case of an emergency. Put it on the fridge at home and carry one in your pocket so that it is always accessible to friends or family. If a child is the person at risk, also make sure that his or her teachers and friends’ parents have a copy, along with the Epi-pen adrenaline auto-injector
Make sure your plan is easy to understand
You need to make sure that your plan can be easily understood by everyone, even those who haven’t had previous experience with food allergies or anaphylaxis. The document needs to present critical information, including the allergens, symptoms, and treatment instructions in an easy-to-follow format— this is critical in an anaphylactic emergency. The document lists symptoms and tells the caregiver or child when to use the epinephrine auto-injector. This template from Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE) is another great example of a clearly set-out allergy emergency plan.
Keep your plan updated
Allergy emergency plans should be reviewed when patients are reassessed by their doctor or allergy specialist and each time they obtain a new adrenaline injector prescription, which is approximately every 12 to 18 months. If the patient is a child, the photo should be updated also.
The ASCIA Action Plan includes a recommended review date, which should coincide with the next scheduled appointment with a doctor or nurse practitioner to obtain a new adrenaline injector prescription.
Preparation is key
Preparation goes a long way in keeping allergy anxiety at bay. Organising an allergy emergency plan and making sure family, friends, and caregivers are all familiar with it can give you peace of mind. At home, at school, at work, or at play, planning is key to living well while managing food allergies.
Shop for allergen-free food at myWellaBee
The only way to avoid an allergic reaction is to avoid food containing your allergen, and myWellaBee can help with that. We have a huge range of food for people with various allergies to make shopping for your family easy. Browse our products today.
References:
ASCIA
https://www.allergy.org.au/hp/anaphylaxis/ascia-action-plan-for-anaphylaxis
https://www.allergy.org.au/hp/anaphylaxis/action-plans-for-allergic-reactions-faq
FARE