Your EpiPen: Don't Leave Home Without It

There are never any guarantees that a dose of epinephrine will save your life in the event of an anaphylactic reaction, but you've got a whole lot better chance of survival than if you're not carrying your EpiPen. In recent news, a teenager named Emma Sloan died on a busy city street in Ireland—in front of her horrified mother—after a meal at a Chinese restaurant. The teen had chosen a satay sauce, mistaking it for curry. In a panic, her mother ran into a local pharmacy begging for an EpiPen, but they wouldn't give her one without a prescription.

I don't know what the answer is for pharmacies, and I don't think there's any use in should-haves in this case, but it sure reminded me to always, always, always pack my son's EpiPen. I've become rather careless about carrying the EpiPen, feeling assured that we won't expose Mason to nuts in any way, but mistakes happen, right?

This week we visited Mason's allergist with great hopes that his peanut allergy was being outgrown. Back in the summer, his blood tests were negative and his skin reaction was minor, so we had our sights set on an oral challenge at SickKids. It wasn't to be. As it happens, his skin test reaction was far worse than ever, which, according to the allergist, indicates that he may have been exposed to peanuts.

Now, we're a fairly diligent family. Mason eats some pre-packaged foods that say they "may contain" peanuts, because we're generally confident that the product hasn't been cross-contaminated, but he also eats Tim Hortons donuts, which while his beloved sprinkle donuts do not themselves contain nuts, they're made in a kitchen that has nuts in it, and they're on shelves next to ones with nuts. So after this week's results, I'm back to being super-paranoid and careful again. No more risking his life, no more taking chances.

I'm so incredibly sorry for Emma Sloan's family. I cannot imagine the fear and heartbreak of watching such an event.

Please, please, please be careful, all you who suffer from allergies. It's never worth the risk.

Click here for more info on epipens and allergies.