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Food Allergy
magdusia
member
first epipen injection on friday :(
magdusia
member
in Food Allergy
I was driving home from work Friday at 3:30 and my phone was set to vibarate so i didn't hear anything.. but i hit bad traffic so i look at my phone and see 4 missed calls. 2 from my nanny and 2 from my DH. i call DH and he starts yelling at me where am i.
He said that my nanny had to give him the epi pen after he ate some popcorn from the floor at a park. I was only about a mile from home but that can be 20 minutes with traffic. I went into a full hysterical cry and went straight to the emergency lane. I was home in nearly 5 minutes and my nanny was just walking him back from the park.
My DH left work early and was home a few minutes after me.
He seemed ok but as soon as he saw me he grabbed me and would not let go. She said he only cried when the needle was inside and then he calmed down. Thankfully she was at a school park and there was a summer class going on and they had a nurse there. she took him to the nurse and she said he's face is getting worse. They were pretty sure that he ate some of the popcorn. They weren't sure if they should give him benadryl or the epipen and since my nanny never saw him get benadryl (even though it's all over my house) she wasn't sure if he could have it or not so the nurse said to just give the epi pen. The nurse couldn't inject it b/c it's not one of her class kids so my nanny did it.
When i saw my nanny she was shaking and freaking out. I know she doesn't pay attention to him as much as i do even though we lecture her all the time but she looooves to text so i hope this will make her more aware and not leave her eye off of my child going forward.
We took him to the ER and they checked his heart and everything else. He's good and happy. just very dehydrated since friday.
I always think about THAT CALL.. that dreaded call.. and wonder how i would react. I just hope i never get it again, especially while pregnant b/c i couldn't stop cramping during this entire episode.
I feel so drained from these allergies. We went to dinner last night (we rarely do) and he started going crazy and scratching.. my DH and i started fighting and i just grabbed him and left. We are done w/ restaurants for a looong time.
My DH started complaining about my son having pasta for dinner AGAIN.. but yet he never takes the time to make anything. i just can't take it anymore. i cry too much and i feel like it's taking a toll on me and the pregnancy.
sorry for the vent. i was just going to write about the epipen injection and somehow it became a vent.
Allergies suck!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: first epipen injection on friday :(
I am so sorry! It's scary $hit - no doubt about it. It was bad enough to be there for our epi experience. Hearing about it on the phone just has to be worse. =(
It sounds like your nanny did the right thing though. When in doubt epi is the rule - thank goodness the nurse was close by too.
I can tell you, DH and I squabbled over allergy issues quite a bit before we had to use the epi. Since then he's been fantastic about everything. He thought I was over protective and going overboard on safety measures. Now he knows why.
Glad your LO is ok! {hugs}
My twins are 5! My baby is 3!
DS#2 - Allergic to Cashew, Pistachio, Kiwi
DS#3 - Allergic to Milk, Egg, Peanut, Tree Nuts and Sesame
Huge, huge, huge hugs.
Allergies do suck. SO much. And, using the epi-pen, or having it used on your child, is absolutely terrifying. I'm glad your nanny had the Epi Pen with her and used it. I'm still shaken up about needing to use the epi on DS in February, and the worry doesn't really go away - but, the extreme fear you're feeling right now will start to subside as more time passes.
I'm so sorry you had to go through that.
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I'm sorry that you got that call. Hopefully your nanny will be more careful from now on so she can avoid this again.
Hang in there, it has to get better.
I know how scary that is. We went to a restaurant yesterday and I took 3 epi's with us. After having one not work, I always have multiple back ups. My husband does the same thing! He'll complain about Jacob always eating chicken, pasta or oatmeal, but he never offers alternatives!
I hope that things calm down for you soon!
I have the exact same set-up and it works perfectly. I love the pre-measured spoons of Benadryl.
Once the stress/nerves from this situation calm down, I think it would be hugely beneficial to get an allergy action plan from your allergist (if you don't already have one) and then go over it with your nanny - and have her keep a copy with the epis.
The action plan will clearly outline what steps should be taken based on the reaction. Typically, Epi is only needed when there are breathing issues, or if there are more than 2 systems involved (puking and hives would be an example) and obviously if the parent/caregiver feels like it is needed based on the situation. It sounds like Benadryl likely would have been just fine to give in this situation, but Epi will not hurt anything by giving it even if it's not needed - so it's great that she gave the Epi!
I know that I love having an action plan for both his allergies and asthma, because it really takes out the guess work.
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thank you ladies!
where do you get the pre-measured spoons of benadryl? i heard they are no longer offered.
We are super worried about our nanny and are planning on replacing her once my maternity leave starts. We have spoken to her multiple times about watching him and have even told her stories of how i saw him running towards a pack of reese's pieces once at the park and thankfully i was watching him otherwise he would have picked it up. She always swore to me she pays attention to him and only texts at home so i felt pretty comfortable. BUT i decided to watch my video last night (i have a visible nanny cam due to issues from my previous nanny and it's always on but i rarely watch it) and i saw her take her study books with her to the park. I freaked when i saw it last night b/c there is absolutely no reason for her to take them to the park other than study. I don't see her in the mornings so my DH will tell her that parks are out of the question and she's only to stay in our back yard. SUCKS! but she (and us) obviously had a wake up call and she might be getting replaced before my maternity leave.
finding a nanny that drives and can do 6am - 5pm is tough though.
Goodness, what a scary time that must have been. My heart always skips a beat when the phone rings and I see it is day care calling.
We are in the process of moving, and I am looking for childcare now. I am getting so anxious because it is so hard to find someone or find a center that is great with allergies.
I am so glad everything turned out ok!
The pre-measured Benadryl was off the shelves for almost a year after they had to recall some Benadryl. The little spoons actually weren't recalled, but they stated they would be using those production lines to work on getting their supply of regular benadryl back up.
However, I about peed my pants with excitement when I saw them back on the shelves at Target last month. LOL I only had 1 left and it was going to expire soon, so I was thrilled!
So, Target definitely carries them, but I'm sure you can likely find them anywhere now that they are back in production. They are 1 teaspoon each, but when DS didn't take an entire teaspoon, we would just squirt out half (or 1/4 depending on the dosage) before taking it and it worked just fine.
Looks like Amazon and Drugstore.com also have them in stock right now.
https://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&q=benadryl+spoons&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1440&bih=719&wrapid=tlif130989670071810&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=3359122833720243290&sa=X&ei=_G8TTsXDC4XUiALg8eDYCg&ved=0CDIQ8wIwAg#
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thank you!!!!!! i'm going to buy 10 dozen right now!!!!!!!