Am I over reacting - sorry it's long

[Mumlifedc]

Hi, just checking if I'm going ott or not.
My child has a peanut allergy, for which there should be medication kept in school in case it's needed.
Recently another child has been bringing in peanut butter sandwich for lunch, my child and a friend of theirs told a staff member.
Well it seems the school panicked, they didn't follow the allergy care plan that was set up when my child joined the school. It came to light they had none of the medication, we rushed to the school and have left the medication there so it's available today.
We will buy more medicine for at home, luckily he has never been hospitalised due to his allergy but that's could happen as each reaction can present differently.
School have no allergy management policy.
This is partly my fault as I had not given the school the piriton, but they had not told me they had none. Previously when it's gone out of date they have told me and I've replaced same day.
School response was a text message to politely request no peanut is sent in to school and tell me staff are epi pen trained
I have sent in a complaint
I want them to follow his allergy plan and to know what that is. He doesn't have an epi pen ( allergy clinic drs won't prescribe unless he has an anaphylactic reaction)he should have piriton straight after exposure and be monitored as reaction can occur upto 2 hours after exposure and can go from mild to serious in that time. If piriton doesn't work and symptoms worsening they should call 999 and state anaphylaxis.
So have I over reacted by sending a formal complaint?
I am looking at other schools but my husband has said that he's safer where he is due to the fear factor they won't let this happen again.

There’s no way they have given it all to your DS without you knowing. It must have been lost, broken or taken by someone else.

Not at all an overreaction and only another parent with the same condition for their child can truly understand.

My DC has a nut allergy and we carry epi-pens with us. School have 2 in the building and she has an emergency medical care plan. My DC's nut allergy became apparent late one night when her Grandad kissed her goodnight. He had been eating nuts and she didn't actually eat any herself but his lips touched her cheek. She became anaphylactic, she couldn't breathe and we had no idea she was allergic. She was 18 months old at the time. Watching her choke before my eyes, it still distresses me and she's 10 now.
A rushed drive to A&E (5 minutes from us) saw them administering adrenaline and giving her oxygen. I have never been so scared in my whole life. She nearly died and for me the risk of exposing her to nuts is just not worth it. Her allergy is airborne and her managed reactions in her yearly allergy clinic appointments only show that her allergy has worsened, not improved.

Her primary school has a no nut policy but we still get utterly selfish parents sending their children into school with nuts in one form or another. My DC is very well informed about her allergy as are her friends so she knows to move away.

For me, her life isn't worth someone's Nutella wrap or nuts in their snack box. You need to be your child's voice in this and set the tone.

I'm sickened when others are dismissive and selfish.

I voted YABU initially as it's your responsibility to provide the medication, but changed to YANBU as that is horrific if they've given Piriton without telling you - for one thing you need to know when he's been exposed so that you can monitor at home. I suspect they've lost the bottle.

My DC has a peanut allergy, she has antihistamines, inhaler and epipens in school. Her consultant recommended we put it all in a tuppaware container that snaps shut and put her photo on it, with a copy of the allergy plan inside. I would do that so that there can be no mistaking it.

Interestingly, the current advice isn't in favour of nut free schools as it makes people too complacent, so I would focus more on the school's (ridiculous) handling of the medication and making sure your DC knows never to eat someone else's food without checking with an adult, rather than on the presence of a peanut butter sandwich.

Oh, and my DC has never had anaphylaxis but they gave the epipens as she has a history of viral wheeze and eczema (just in case that's of any use to you).

They should be recording any medication given to any child in case there are any repercussions later. Is this a state UK primary school? How can they not have an allergy policy? This is safeguarding. The most important issue there is in a school.

Do they at least have a medicine policy? You shouldn't have to be asking if he has been medication, they should be telling you with a slip documenting what time and why they did it. FFS this is really bad.

I cannot believe that they have given your child a whole bottle of Piriton. It seems like they have been using it as a communal bottle. Check their medicine policy. In the school I have volunteered in I am sometimes the second adult who checks the medicine, signs the book to confirm the correct medicine for the correct child. There is a paper file of all the children by year group and their medical needs, a plastic box with any medicine in (sometimes kept in the fridge) and a photograph of the child on the box. All belt and braces approach.

I would be putting in a formal complaint. They cannot be casual about this.

No, I don't think you were unreasonable, for all the reasons expressed already. At my daughter's previous school, they had a blanket not nut, peanut, or egg policy.

I was annoyed when they too a flapjack off her, as we'd made it ourselves, with no banne ingredients. Looking back, I know that they thought that they couldn't risk it.

We used to get a letter every 2 or 3 weeks, reminding us, because a kid had gone in with a bag of nuts.

This would be a serious breach of rules, surely?

If OP handed in a full bottle in September and now none was available when her DS had a reaction, then something serious has happened.

A bit of tangent but if your kids 'allergy' is so mild he hasn'tbbeen given an epipen, I wouldn't be adjusting my child's diet for them.Bit of a cheek especially for vegans

I mean until portion what they have for hay-fever. Does the school ban trees , grass and flowers?

I think a formal complaint when you are partly at fault is an odd way to deal with it.
Most things are best dealt with by a dialogue.

Was your child exposed to peanuts by the other child?
If so, did your child or anyone make staff aware?
Did they check your child for signs of allergy?
Did they call you?

What didn't they do?
Why?

If the answer is they discovered there was no medication in school, then you could ask them to review how they check on this. I would also be acknowledging that I also have a responsibility to provide the in date medication for my child. My child once ate a piece of cake at school at a Macmillan coffee morning. Staff then panicked because they had not checked the allergens as it was homemade. My son does have an epipen due to previous anaphylaxes They checked him. They let me know. We all learnt from it. I didn't need to make a formal complaint. It was a dialogue and we moved on.

Would your dc not tell you if they had needed medication? I'd bet it's been used for other kids in the school. Awful.

I don't have an opinion about the school situation but I sure as hell would be raising a stir to get the epi pen prescription! You don't wait around to 'see' if he has anaphylaxis -- what are they thinking of?

There is no downside to administering the epi pen if it turns out he is not having anaphylaxis but there certainly is a downside to not having it at hand.

My child has antihistamine and epipen, not nut allergy but another common one. Not airborne thankfully.

The paperwork/ plan I completed with the school makes it clear that it is on me to check dates etc on the meds. Perhaps check with school to see what the care plan states?

I would be checking back in with the allergy clinic though, my child hasn’t had an anaphylaxis but has had swollen lips/ tongue and audible wheeze - resolved with piriton though. They didn’t hesitate to prescribe epipens!

Are you sure about them giving him a full bottle of piriton since September?

Just a thought on the Piriton, is it liquid? In hospitals we have a policy where we have to discard open bottles of medication after around a month, maybe they have a similair policy?

Surely they should let you know if he has been given it because otherwise you could give him some at home very close in time to his last dose and risk him having too much

Clearly they have lost the piriton

This is really odd on a few counts.

DD's hospital allergy clinic have stopped prescribing Piriton for food allergies due to the side effects. They favour non-drowsy antihistamines.

If school have really administered and entire bottle of Piriton to your child in less than 3 months that's absolutely dreadful and would merit an official complaint. It could well be impacting on his behaviour at school. It makes some kids very sleepy.

If they've given it to him because they thought he was having a reaction they have been negligent in not informing you as you should have been told so that you can keep a close eye on him. I wonder if they thought he was supposed to have a daily dose.

It sounds like they are using the Piriton for themselves.

But surely if he has a serious allergy he should have an epi pen? I would talk to his Dr about this - and if he does then it won’t get passed around like the Piriton

Initially thought was a little ott and I say that with a child that has a peanut allergy that doesn't require epi pens. But your update os the worry, are you sure they hadn't lost the piriton as seems madness to me that they have given even one dose without telling you. Or they have used it for others???

Wow I get a text from my kids school if they have stood in a puddle and got wet feet!! I certainly would have expected a text or call to say they had needed medication!!! Not good at all!