When do they prescribe an Epipen?

[pickletray]

My DS has multiple allergies, diagnosed last summer when he was about 14m old, Tree nuts, peanuts, most legumes (peas, beans, lentils chickpeas etc) sesame, eggs (seems ok with small amounts of egg as a well-cooked/processed ingredient), and now also suspecting other things too.

We've mostly had reactions ranging from hives, vomiting, and eyes and nose streaming, snottiness and coughing but no sign of airway problems.

We've had two allergy clinic appointments, the first they diagnosed the peanuts, nuts, eggs and then we went back because he was reacting to the other stuff. It's my concern that allergies may become worse. At the time the allergy consultant didn't think he needed an epipen at that point. i don't know if it was the size of his skin reactions that determined this. I was okay with that at the time but Im getting a bit more anxious now.

We've managed to avoid these foods (beans peas and lentils were the hardest as these meant a big change to our diets), but I don't think we've got to the bottom of his allergies. He's had a couple of reactions recently to something in curry pastes, we don't know what.

I'm starting to get more nervous about his allergies as there's so many and now seems to be more, and now wonder if we should have an epipen just in case a reaction turns out to be major. Also, what happens when they prescribe one do they give you training in how to use it, and what about nursery etc?

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

DS was prescribed one when he was 2.5 as his face and eyes blew up like a balloon,never any actually breathing issues though.

We went to A and E and after treatment we were told to go to our GP and ask for a refferal to the allergy clinic which took 3 months iirc. GP also prescribed 2 epi pens.

[Warmworm]

I wasn't initially given an epipen when my dd was first diagnosed at 13 months. But then her accidental exposure reactions (only one or two in 9 years) seemed to be getting more severe so I just asked the GP for an epipen and she agreed straight away.

I thought coughing was a sign of the airways being involved in the reaction, so that would indicate an epipen is required? Especially if he has any asthma. It's the first sign of a serious reaction in my dd, a dry, wheezy cough and a feeling that there's something in her throat.

I was given a training pen to practice with and for the whole family/carers to try using. My dd is 12 now but we always kept an epipen in the teacher's cupboard at primary school. Now that she's in high school she carries it around herself.

[trixymalixy]

They will usually only prescribe them once the child is above a certain weight and/or there is a history of asthma and/or there has been an anaphylactic reaction. Although it does seem to vary wildly between doctors.

[Winifredgoose]

We were also given an epipen following the dry wheezy coughing, during which my son felt there was a 'ball' down his throat. He had previously had hives and facial swelling of eyes and mouth.

[Winifredgoose]

He was 3.

[Stumbleine]

Ds, now 10, has his first reaction as 2 years old. His entire face blew up and he was struggling to breathe. The first consultant we saw did not prescribe an epipen (presumably on the basis of the skin test they did). We had him seen at a different hospital (due to a sibling being under their care), and this doctor did blood tests and prescribed an epipen. She told me that there should always be an epipen prescribed if there has been any sign of a compromised airway.