DS Reaction at College

[Greenlady]

Hi all - It's been almost six years since DS's last reaction to peanuts, but today I got a text from him from the ER letting me know what happened and that they were holding him for observation. I was ready to jump in the car and drive down (my attempts at immediate teleportation being unsuccessful) but he asked me not to - he's three hours away so he'd be released before I could get there. 

I just talked with him on the phone, and aside for him not doublechecking the label of a nutrition bar, it sounds like he did everything right.  The nutrition bar in question was the same brand of a no-peanuts version that he'd often grab on the way to class when he didn't have time for breakfast, and he didn't notice that the canteen had swapped out his usual one for one that had peanut ingredients.  He started eating it in class and immediately knew it was the wrong one - it had a spicy, metallic taste, and he felt his throat start to close.  He used his epipen (which was in his backpack) and 911 was called.  They gave him intravenous medication (I think benedryl and prednisone) and kept him there for several hours for observation, with follow up meds. He's pretty wiped out but sounded in good spirits. I'll talk with him again tomorrow.

He's twenty-one now, and it's really up to him to manage his allergy, and I've managed to restrain myself to just the occasional reminder about his allergy plan (like when he went to Puerto Rico during winter break). So as scary as today way, it was also reassuring that he still is taking his allergy seriously and that the emergency plan worked as intended.

But I will probably have trouble sleeping tonight.

[GoingNuts]

Yikes Greenlady - the college years are scary ones. Glad he seems to be OK. Is he aware of the possibility of a biphasic reaction, and what to do?

My DS had a reaction around the same age - he was upstate on summer break, visiting with his roommate. A bunch of them grabbed some pizza in the wee hours, and he asked about the pizza, which was OK. What he didn't ask about was the hot sauce that was on the table, which was homemade and contained their "secret" ingredient - PB. I got a call from the ER at 3:58 AM, and like you, restrained myself from making the 4 hour drive.  Everything appeared to be under control, but I can tell you that I woke up every morning at exactly 3:58 for weeks. 

I hope he can get some rest, and that he was able to refill his Rx!

[rebekahc]

I'm so glad he's okay now! In some ways I find this age more challenging than when they were younger because I find it so hard to step back in these type of situations.

I hope they sent him with a prescription for prednisone for the next few days, too, or if not I hope he has a local doctor he can call for a prescription if needed!