Anaphylactic Trauma

[Lac365]

DN1 had an allergic reaction to a virus and went into anaphylactic shock. Has allergies to nuts, seeds, hayfever, cats, dogs (plus). At the time didn?t have an epipen as his allergies weren?t thought to be that bad. He now has one.

I feel so guilty and ashamed that I didn?t realise the gravity of his reaction. We only just got to the hospital in time. It was so scary.

I?m so worried that it?s going to happen again. When he was visiting last week I just couldn?t take my eyes off him in case he got stung by a bee and had a reaction or something like that. DN2 (6yrs) also kept saying things about not letting the cats and dogs get his brother and asking if we had the epipen handy.

I keep having nightmares about it. I don?t know how his mum and dad cope.

DN2 obviously worries about it too. DN1 is really fine with it and is dealing with it the best out of everyone.

Just needed to share my story.

So long as the allergens are managed as well as possible and his epipen is there and someone is trained to use it (DN1 himself may be able to do this, depending on age and stage during a reaction when it is decided to use it, i.e. not too late before he becomes severely ill) there is nothing more that can be done. School will also be used to this and they can't always manage things that well there (e.g. other pupils' lunch boxes may have nuts; his hay fever or a bee sting could easily happen there) and of course they have more children to keep an eye on at a time as well. Try to relax so he doesn't feel like he's a problem and maybe get his parents to rehearse with you what to look for and what to do if he does have a reaction while with you, for your own peace of mind.

oh how scary for you all! in a way I imagine it's almost worse when it's a relative rather than your own child as you probably feel doubly worried and protective, plus he and his parents will get used to managing it on a daily basis whereas for you it's only intermittent.

I agree with funchum8am that it can be managed well and the main thing is to know what to look for and what to do. But try not to feel guilty and ashamed - it's very hard to know the first time, and even with subsequent reactions I've often been unsure exactly how serious it was and whether to use the epipen.

so please don't beat yourself up about it - the main thing is that you obviously did handle it and you did get him to hospital in time.

Thank you for your kind replies.
Sometimes it just helps to write things down/share.

It's still scarey though.