Allergy Medication in Schools is Crucial to Save Lives

About 90 percent of all schools have one or more students with a food allergy, and about 25 percent of life-threatening food allergy reactions reported at schools occurred in children with no prior history of food allergies. That's why doctors and Nationwide Children's Hospital say it is so critical to have epinephrine readily available to schools. Dr. Sarah Denny knows just how important having allergy medication close by is since it saved her son's life.

An act recently signed by President Obama will make it easier to provide epinephrine to children with severe food allergies in schools, even without a prescription. Physicians at Nationwide Children's Hospital hope the act will encourage the remaining 20 states to pass legislation, incentivizing and, in some cases, requiring that schools to have this medication available for all students since up to 6 percent of children in the United States are now diagnosed with a food allergy.