p...and our son likes it. He enjoys wearing it over his clothes. I told him, however, if he goes to school in September, he has to wear it under his clothes. Too many fingers poking at it and asking questions make me a little uneasy about him carrying it. He has to follow strict rules on carrying it, so "out of sight, out of other little minds" is what we're going to try to do at school. /p
pAny comments on this approach, anyone?/p
We got our E-belt today...
Posted on: Tue, 04/02/2002 - 12:01am
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Katie has worn and epi-belt at school since the beginning of November. It's very convenient for her. Most days she forgets she has it on. She never wears shirts tucked in so the belt always ends up under her shirt. I agree that under the shirt is better for the reasons you stated.
My kindergarten son wears an Allergy Pack (a shot holder that is attached to his regular belt) He goes to a private school with a dress code that requires he wear a belt and a shirt with a collar that is tucked in. He loves his Allergy Pack and has never had a problem with the other kids. The first time he wore it he explained to the other kids that it held his shot and could only be opened by a grown up. They were all fine with that and I think its more a case of being such a familiar sight that they don't even think about it. It may be different in a public school with more kids (there are 16 in his class) but we have never had a single problem with him wearing it on the outside.
As a side note we met my out of State cousins at McD's last night that I had not seen for almost 10 years and the first thing they noticed was his Medic Alert Sports Band and his shot holder.
Take Care,
Valerie
Our little guy will be 4 at the end of August and he is going to school for the first time at that time.
We want him to wear an epibelt too since he will be at art, music, in class, gym etc and it is good for him to have it on his body at all times. We have a single epipen belt holder from FAAN. Don't want him to wear a heavy fanny pack but maybe that is better.
What should he wear? Where can i buy it? what do you use? thanks!!
Ryan's Mom - My son has been wearing his e-belt for 3 years. In grade 1 he wore a small fanny pack, but we found it too cumbersome - it got in the way on the play structure and during gym, etc. It also got very dirty inside and we found the actual Epipen, eventhough it was in a toothbrush holder, was all dirty with sand and could have been jammed when we tried to use it. We find with the e-belt all of these issues are solved. It's not cheap, but I think it's more than worth it. He wears it on the outside ALL THE TIME. I think it's important as part of the allergy plan for your child to have the children he's in class with look at the e-belt and epipen, understanding why he has it, what's it's used for, what a reaction looks like, etc. in age appropriate language. Hiding it is the LAST thing I'd do. It's important that everyone knows what it is and where it is. It's a badge of honor. Of course reinforcing at that age that only an adult can open it and use it is all part of the process, but the children should be part of the safety net. I heard of one parent who decided not to "make" their child wear their Epipen, because it got in the way while they were trying to use the washroom and the little boy had a accident. The mom has now decided that the epipen should stay in his backpack - DEFINATELY not what I would do but it just shows you how different people are about this kind of stuff.
AAA - The company that makes the e-belt is Zoni Inc. They are linked to this site at [url="http://www.peanutallergy.com/e-belt.htm"]http://www.peanutallergy.com/e-belt.htm[/url] or directly to their site at //www.zoniinc.com. Either way, mention you're a member here - I think you get a deal, but don't quote me on that!
Thanks. Very similar to the one FAAN sells and we have two of those. With this, cannot carry benadryl but that is OK. Also cannot carry two epipens but guess that is okay too, provided the first one works. I think FAAN may have a belt where you can carry two with you at all times. will log on to [url="http://www.foodallergy.org"]www.foodallergy.org[/url] and look for it.
Adam has had his e-belt for about a year. He puts in on every which way, either over clothes or under. I am the one who tends to put it under his shirts as it has drawn some negative attention from older children in his school. I am comfortable with it under his shirt. People have still noticed he is wearing it. Adam is now 6 1/2, and wears it with no problems or complaints.
To address the concern that it may be "hidden", you can have inscribed on the medic alert bracelet "carries epi-pen on person".
Wow! Thanks for all you comments and ideas.
Just this afternoon, when I went to the gym, Ryan had his e-belt on. One of his playmates in the playroom was curious about it and was asking questions. The playroom director got Ryan's attention and motioned for him to be quiet about it and tuck it under his shirt. Ryan's one of the oldest there, so I thought that was good advice. A lot of small kids tend to poke and prod as they ask questions. Many of them are really not at an age at which they can understand what it's for anyway.
raising.
AlwaysAvoidAnaphylaxis : the Zoni E-belt is available in a "double" ... have a look on their site [url="http://www.zoniinc.com"]www.zoniinc.com[/url]
N
I got my son the double e-belt after his last anaphylactic reaction. It was so severe I thought I was going to have to inject him twice. Luckily I didn't have to, but I thought since his reactions seem to be getting worse each time, I didn't want to take any chances.
The belts are expensive, but when you consider they save lives, they are well worth it. My son has the little pouch on his for the benedryl tablets which has come in very handy on many occasions, for his other minor (just hives) allergies.
As for the school, he started wearing his in grade one when they started doing music, gym, recess, library etc.. without their classroom teacher. He wears it under or over his clothing, depending on his "style" that day.
We have just over 200 students in the school and they all know what it is, and we have never had any problems with anyone trying to touch or grab. The students have been well educated since the school has become peanut free. Our son knows not to open it to show anyone because it is very dangerous, and needs to be kept safe, so it is ready to go when/if he ever needs it again.
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Cynde
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