Medic Alert Bracelets: Do they work?

Three weeks ago my sister Kat went into anaphylactic shock.

I knew, without question, that a phone call at 3:30am meant someone was in trouble. Fortunately, she was already at the hospital recovering and her friend was by her side; the baby was due to wake up for a feed so it was close to 5:30 by the time I got to her.

Her reaction came on slowly, over a few hours and although she knows she’s allergic to hazelnuts and latex, she has still been unable to determine exactly what caused the reaction. She was in pretty rough shape and home from school for a week, though I think she’s pretty much recovered now.

Anaphylaxis is scary. I hope the boy will never have to fully experience it, however it’s a very real fear. Almost immediately after we found out the boy was allergic to peanuts, we got him a medic alert bracelet that he wears at all times. It provides peace or mind that regardless of the situation, the boys’ information will always be close at hand to those that would need it.

That belief is currently under review.

Although she was unable to talk, no one checked my sister for a medic alert bracelet. Despite her barely conscious, oxygen deprived state she waved her medic alert at the nurse who repeatedly pushed Kat’s arm away without a second glance.  She was a the hospital and NO ONE checked her for a medic alert bracelet.

Three weeks later and she still has a rash on her arm from the latex tourniquet used to start her IV; a minor reaction to a small but unnecessary action. If someone had checked her for a medic alert, they would have known to keep everything latex-free.

I can’t help but be disappointed. I always believed that wearing a medic alert was a proactive move; a medically recognized way to keep medical information is available, regardless of consciousness. But now I’m not so sure, Kat tells me this is the second time she's been to the hospital and no one checked her for a medic alert.

As a parent of a peanut allergic child, I NEED to believe that wearing a medic alert will help keep my boy safe.  I must stay strong and I can't allow my faith to be shaken; anaphylaxis is scary enough as is.

Do you or your family member wear a medic alert bracelet?  Do you know someone whose live was saved by their medic alert bracelet?  Or alternately, do you know someone else whose medic alert bracelet was ignored?

Going peanut free

Last Thursday, I returned from my lunch break to find my phone message light flashing and a text from the hubs stating 'Call me ASAP'.  I'm pretty positive in the 9.5 years we have been together, I have never heard him use the term ASAP.  I knew something was wrong and was instantly filled with worry.

I caught the hubs before he ran out the door to the hospital, but he gave me the lowdown.  The boy had found a peanut butter sandwich crust at my sister-in-laws and after simply touching it, he had an almost immediate reaction.  The skin on his hands became red and inflammed and the reaction kept spreading.  By the time my mother-in-law got him upstairs the redness spread past his wrist, by the time my sister-in-law grabbed a pen to mark the redness, it had reached his armpits.  They loaded him up on Benadryl and took him to the hospital (which is conveniently one block away).

Fortunately, there was no respiratory distress, which led the doctor to agree with my mother-in-laws observations that he hadn't actually ingested any peanut butter, however his reaction is considered anaphylactic.  It was only about 15 minutes from when he touched the peanut butter to when he was in the ER and by that time he was red up to the eyeballs.  The doctor gave him an epipen shot and some benadryl, which seemed to settle the inflamation, but within an hour an a half it was coming back.  They had to give him another epipen shot as well as a steroid to try and get the medication to 'stick'.  He threw up at this point, and cried from the shots, but after the second round of shots, he moved into recovery mode.

I was ready to bolt from the office when the hubs told me what happened, but he quickly encouraged me to stay rational and finish anything critical I was working on since I'd been out of office for the past two days and he was already one foot out the door.  It was hard to do, but it was a good decision.  The boy was well taken care of by his Daddy and his Aunty and I didn't have to stress about work when I took the next day off with the boy.

I didn't actually get to the hospital until after the second round of medication, but I did end up staying for about 4 hours until we saw the pediatrician and she discharged us.  For the next two days, the boy was cranky, itchy and red, but I gave him benadryl without hesitation to keep him comfortable.  Over the past week, his skin has been very sensitive and there seems to be a lot more redness and itching than normal.  We're going to the pediatrician for a follow-up tomorrow and she mentioned at the hospital that she will be referring us to an allergist.

I'm sad for the boy, that not only does he have another allergy, he has a severe, life-threatening allergy.  Eczema triggering allergies are manageable and if his allergies don't go away as he gets older, he will at least be in a position to weigh the enjoyment of eating 'forbidden' foods against the reaction.  With the peanuts however, its an entirely different situation.  Even though we are now armed with epipens and I know that nut allergies are increasingly common and manageable (my nephew and sister are both anaphylactic to hazelnuts), I still find myself thinking of all the food the boy will never get to experience and the difficulties this allergy will cause him as he ages.

I know so many of you are living with severe allergies yourself or in your family, and I know we live in a day and age where there are so many options available, but any words of wisdom on the topic would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks in advance for sharing.