Another fatality today

hk · April 07, 2013, 06:19:20 PM

http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20130407/NJNEWS/304070025/Monmouth-County-boy-dies-apparent-allergic-reaction

The fact that the EpiPen didn't save him scares me to death. This is the third fatality I've read about in three weeks.

Macabre · April 07, 2013, 06:53:53 PM

Oh, this is awful.

my3guys · April 07, 2013, 07:38:26 PM

Oh god. Too many of these lately. That one line...epi didn't work is positively terrifying. That poor family.

Mfamom · April 07, 2013, 07:57:45 PM

Yes, what a sad story. In the blink of an eye emergencies happen.

becca · April 07, 2013, 08:41:49 PM

That is terribly sad. Frightening, too.

CMdeux · April 07, 2013, 08:49:11 PM

This story highlights something that has always bothered me when other people in our lives fail to understand my family's emphatic, unconditional emphasis on prevention/avoidance, not epinephrine, as our cornerstone of management.

When my DH and I first began examining what expert allergists and the peer-reviewed literature said over a decade ago, the one most sobering thing of all was that quiet admission by Hugh Sampson that some people die because... even epinephrine, administered correctly and in a timely fashion, wasn't enough to save them...

well. While it is true that epinephrine is grossly underutilized, and also true that delays tend to worsen outcomes, it is NOT true that prompt administration saves everyone. It doesn't. I remember that when I'm tempted to consider a risk "worth it just this once." Nothing is worth that.

Macabre · April 07, 2013, 08:49:33 PM

I see several links to the story. I don't see any mention exactly when the Epi was given, but there was likely a delay, given the nature of the circumstances. Technically--at least having to pull over in a safe place before administering. It will have taken some time recognize what was going on and to do that. Even when we are face to face with our children, it's tough to realize that a reaction is happening. But to recognize it while driving and then to react--that will take some time.

I think all of us have wondered about how to deal with a reaction while driving. And I know at least one of us has described dealing with one while driving and pulling over. The idea is so frightening.

I just feel so sad for this family. They had their little boy when they went to church this morning. And now they don't.

GoingNuts · April 08, 2013, 06:15:52 AM

So tragic. I just hate, hate, hate these stories. It's like a black cloud follows me for a week every time I read one.

That poor, poor family. My heart goes out to them.