This week a seven-year-old elementary school student in Chesterfield County, Virginia, died after suffering an allergic reaction at school. Allergist Dr. Stanley Fineman, president of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, (ACAAI) is available to discuss the importance of immediate access to epinephrine, the first-line treatment for an allergic emergency or anaphylactic reaction. Delay in treating these reactions can have severe consequences including death. Recent deaths of teens in Georgia and Illinois, who did not have immediate access to epinephrine, underscore the importance of immediate treatment.
"We are saddened at the news of this little girl's death," said Dr. Fineman. "While we don't know the specifics of this event, we do know that, with proper education and immediate treatment, nearly all severe allergic reactions are preventable."
ACAAI recommends that those with a previous history of severe allergic reaction see an allergist, obtain and fill a prescription for epinephrine, carry the epinephrine with them at all times and use it immediately at the first sign of an allergic reaction.
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