EpiPens for All – NYTimes.com
#EpiPens for All: Advocates providing undesignated #epinephrine at schools – like public defibrillators http://nyti.ms/15M9DBN MT @sbyearly
QT:”
Much like publicly available defibrillators, “stock” or “undesignated” epinephrine — that is, not prescribed to a particular person — can save lives without stigmatizing recipients or potential recipients or creating restrictions for those without allergies.
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Also, good last paragraphs, viz:
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Disturbingly, a significant portion of severe allergic reactions at school occur among students with no prior allergy diagnosis. During the 2012-13 school year, of the 38 people in Chicago public schools who were injected with undesignated EpiPens provided through the EpiPen4Schools program, 21 did not previously know they had an allergy….
Those of us in allergic families know that being directly affected by allergies isn’t a requirement for compassion; the world, thank goodness, is populated by many sympathetic individuals. Still, it’s not hard to find people who are hostile and disbelieving toward allergies. I suspect that the most vociferous antagonists of the allergic community won’t understand just what it’s like to live with allergies unless they themselves or someone close to them develops them, but I hope, for their sakes, that these people are blessed with the luxury of maintaining their skepticism….
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http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/08/opinion/sunday/epipens-for-all.html