Legislation that allows schools to keep epinephrine on hand in case of emergencies has one final step before becoming law. House Bill 1167 passed the full Senate unopposed Monday. It allows schools to maintain self-administered shots that are given by the school nurse or designated employee in a time of crisis. The nurse or employee must be trained to recognize the signs of an allergic reaction and how to properly give the shot. Senator Jean Hunhoff says it is increasingly important to have access to epinephrine.
“There is about an 18 percent increase in food allergies among children in the last 10 years. I read in the Yankton paper this past weekend that a local school district in Avon is banning all peanut associated products because children are found to be allergic and have an anaphylactic reaction to that. One in 25 children are affected by allergies, and in 24 percent of school incidents of anaphylaxis, the school was unaware the child had an allergy,” Hunhoff says.
Hunhoff says the auto-injectors are also available for other situations like a student getting stung by a wasp. House Bill 1167 heads now to Governor Dennis Daugaard’s desk.
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