In October 2010, I interviewed Jo Swinson for this site and she told me of the work she was doing to help children with allergies who were being bullied at school:
Basically, other kids had put the food that they’re allergic to in their pockets or bags. Worse, the kids had been held down and had the toxic food pushed towards their face. We all know that children can be cruel and all bullying is bad and needs to be addressed, but the specific issue with this is that while some schools take it seriously, other schools didn’t see it as anything more than just kids playing around. Of course actually to a child who has a severe allergy to a particular food, then threatening them with that food is more in the league of pulling a knife on somebody else but it wasn’t being treated with that level of seriousness. So if you’re a child with an allergy and if you’re scared that you’re going to have the food that could make you go into anaphylactic shock and become very ill or die forced on you, that’s going to have a serious impact on your education.
I think that there needs to be a recognition that that sort of attack is very serious and Anaphylaxis is an extreme and severe allergic reaction. The whole body is affected, often within minutes of exposure to the substance which causes the allergic reaction (allergen) but sometimes after hours.needs to be dealt with accordingly. I hope that by raising the issue the Minister will be aware of what can happen and that schools can share best practice rather than the response being very very patchy with some schools dealing with it well and others not managing to grasp the gravity of the issue.
Jo understands the issues as she has a serious nut allergy herself. Yesterday, as STV reports, she found herself in the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow after suffering what she described as an “anaphylaxis episode.” On her Facebook page, she thanked the staff there.
Thankfully now recovered from anaphylaxis episode yesterday: huge appreciation to the fab staff at Southern General for keeping me alive.
The Anaphylaxis Campaign (for whom Jo ran a marathon in 2007) defines anaphyaxis thus:
Anaphylaxis is an extreme and severe allergic reaction. The whole body is affected, often within minutes of exposure to the substance which causes the allergic reaction (allergen) but sometimes after hours.
Symptoms vary from shortness of breath, hives, swelling of throat and mouth to collapse. Reactions are treated by injections of adrenaline.
The St John Ambulance website which tells you what to do if you see someone suffering from this severe type of allergic reaction.
Update: I used the St John Ambulance site because I reckoned it’s the organisation that readers would be most familiar with, but have since been told that St Andrew’s Ambulance in Scotland have recently been campaigning on the issue. You can find out more information about the campaign, their training course and their card with details of how to recognise the signs and symptoms of anaphylaxis on the highlighted links.
* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings. You can find her on Bluesky at caronmlindsay.bsky.social
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12 Comments
Thanks for helping spread the word about #anaphylaxis #food allergies. Efforts to stop bullies and place #Epipen in every classroom is great, but if you know your kid has food allergies nothing safer than self carrying the epi’s. Individuals with severe allergies should carry on them, not inside their back pack or a bag, their Epipens or AuviQ epinephrine auto injectors at all times. It can help save your life.
Let’t hope that the real cuts in funding, doctors, midwives and nurses don’t have too much of an effect on the NHS bit my real fear is when the effects of S45 Kick in and every decision is based on share holder returns; I somehow feel that nut allergies will be of no great concern.
I’m glad that Jo has recovered from her allergic reaction.
On the article itself – is there any actual evidence to prove that ‘some’ schools are cavalier about children with allergies getting bullied? In my experience (in a few schools), staff were given presentations on extreme allergies and children’s needs were explained, plus the location of epipens etc… The child also had a staff member as a point of contact for any issues. Okay it’s only anecdotal but I have not come across lazy or cavalier approaches to something this serious.
I just hope this isn’t yet another worry that gains a momentum all of its own because it deeply damaging – normally it’s left to the Tories to damage schools with fear.
Lack of public awareness is alarming, and comedians making a cheap joke of ‘middle-class food fads’ encourages a less than serious attitude to the issue. Thankfully most trained chefs know about it but sadly few restaurants now serve fresh food, due to the dominance of the branded outlet, and product sheets supplied with the pre-prepared product are sometimes lacking in detail, especially where imported.
Ziggy, anaphylaxis is immediately life threatening but the person can be quickly and easily stabilised through administration of steroids, adrenaline and oxygen. Please don’t frighten people by suggesting that such treatment may not be available because that’s simply wrong.
Helen, Jo’s comments came from her experience meeting young people with allergies themselves at an even tin Parliament. Your experience is clearly an example of best practice that other schools should follow.
@Marlena
Having immediate access to an Epipen is of course vital, but what is even more important than that is avoidance. In many of the cases of fatalaties I have read about, an Epipen was administered promptly, but simply didn’t work. This is the most chilling aspect of anaphylaxis – the reaction can be so severe that it is impossible to treat.
@Helen
As the parent of a child with a nut allergy, by and large I have been happy with the seriousness taken by staff of the schools my son has gone to. There have been a couple of instances of carelessness though, both of which came to light when popping in to the school office at the end of term to pick up my son’s medicine bag. One time, the bag was handed to me straight from the fridge – despite the large label we had put on it saying “Do Not Refrigerate”. Epipens are useless if refrigerated. Another time, the bag could not be found at all until the day after. Thankfully, due to effective avoidance and a merciful absence of bullying, our schools have never been put to the test in an emergency.
@Peter
Thank you for making that point. I have heard and read several comments from people over the years openly suggesting that food allergy is somehow not real. Such wilful ignorance is offensive.
I am very grateful to Jo Swinson for all the work she has done on this issue over the years, and I would hate for this to sound in any way critical, but I have to say that I am very surprised that she should (a) eat a “biscuity” cake, not being completely sure of the ingredients, and (b) eat anything at all while out and about without having her medicine to hand. If the reports are correct then she has broken two of the golden rules of allergy management (but at least this has given her a good opportunity to send a message to others who may be tempted to do the same). I am well aware though that these things can happen and I can think back to one or two lapses myself. Many people who die from this are actually very sensible people who are well aware of their allergy and take great care to manage it normally, but then succumb to the lure of a takeaway curry.
@Caron
“anaphylaxis is immediately life threatening but the person can be quickly and easily stabilised through administration of steroids, adrenaline and oxygen”
I must reiterate, this is not always the case. Epipens are not 100% effective and I have had heard of several cases where prompt treatment failed to work. I don’t want to alarm anybody here – in most cases the epipen will work, but it should not be thought of as a magic bullet.
Do you thank the burger flipper for flipping your burger too?
It’s their job, it’s what they are paid for.
@Dave
I thank burger flippers on a regular basis. It’s called manners.
@Caron,
Yes, all hospital departments where drugs are administered and the like should (and in my experience do) have access to oxygen and anaphylactic shock packs (including adrenaline and piriton). Of course, replacing permanent staff with agency staff rotated through on an ad-hoc basis, they’ll all know where that kit is in an emergency, won’t they? And of course, it’ll all be checked and in date. And your staff will know how to administer it safely. Obviously ensuring staff are fully trained is the prime directive of private healthcare providers. They wouldn’t cut corners on that. After all, we could find out the number of trained staff they have in place with an FOI request. Can’t we?
Thanks for this article @Caron. Its shocking that some schools – even if just a few – don’t recognise allergies. I had that problem, but that was in the 1960s.
@Stuart is right about avoidance.
I am allergic to something in fish. I never eat nibbles at receptions (which causes diplomatic problems in some overseas settings) and very rarely buy takeaways. Working in Tokyo a while back, I lived on disgusting Wendy Burgers as the hotel served fish with everything no matter what my instructions.
Being forced to eat fish at school made my life a misery and I usually spent Friday afternoons crying in bed. Who knows, it may have made the allergy so much worse I needed to carry an epipen. Children certainly should not be forced to suffer this miserable treatment more than forty years after I did.