My son had another contact reaction at school yesterday. He is allergic to peanuts and tree nuts. He was given Epi. His throat and tongue were swollen and he had tingly lips. My problem is that the ER discharged him less than 2 hours after his reaction and only on Benadryl! I expressed my concern about a biphasic reaction. I was told that he was fine and not having any symptoms. I argued with the doc and she insisted he was fine. I told her I wanted to speak with his pediatrician. She phoned the pedi, but he was not in. His associate okayed the discharge. I left the ER very upset and nervous. My son was anxious all night with chest tightness. Luckily, he is fine now. He woke up "back to normal", without the anxiety he had after a previous reaction. He will see his pediatrician in the morning and I will express my concerns with him.
Could I refuse to leave the hospital if this happens again? I am mad at myself for not calling the pediatrician's associate back myself and voicing my concerns. I think I was in shock that they were kicking us out.
I did phone the allergist when I got home (from a different hospital). He said there is nothing he can do about it now, but to watch him closely for the next few hours. What a fun night last night was!
Any tips for the future?
Our allergist told me that if we end up in the ER and are discharged prior to four hours, to just go and sit in the waiting room until four hours has passed. That it's better to be at the hospital in case of a bi-phasic reaction. He said to ignore the hospital staff and wait.
sacena,
You were right to be concerned. A few years ago, a study was performed and found wide variation in the quality of Emergency Dept. treatment for anaphylaxis...
[url="http://www.jacionline.org/article/PIIS0091674903025375/abstract"]http://www.jacionline.org/article/PIIS0091674903025375/abstract[/url]
In addition to McCobbre's suggestion, you could also insist on speaking with the attending or Head of ER...
sacena,
Just because your Allergist is not on the staff at that hospital does not mean they cannot call him. I have had my Allergist called a couple of times from the ER for advice on how to proceed, as I also have reactions to some meds.
Get an appt with your Allergist for a follow-up. Ask for an allergy action plan. You can keep this in your purse, backpack, school, etc... It will detail treatment guidelines for your DS during a reaction.
Glad your DS is ok, but I would be very uncomfortable being discharged that early, also. Bring a blanket and sit in the waiting room next time, or let your DS nap in the back seat of your car, weather permitting.
Remember to keep up the Benadryl for a few days after the reaction. Mine will sometimes pop back up at 4-5 hours, just as the Benadryl starts to wear off.
HTH,
Daisy
in new york at least i know that if you dont feel like you should be released from the hospital you can appeal it, you dont have to leave if you dont feel confortable. i agree with the other posts here. call your allergist and get a plan of action and also your peditration shold be able to be reached, usually they have a answering service that can reach your dr in an emergency. if this isnt the case then i suggest you find a dr that can be reached if you find yourself in this situation again.
best of luck to you and your son
erin
Quote:Originally posted by McCobbre:
[b]Our allergist told me that if we end up in the ER and are discharged prior to four hours, to just go and sit in the waiting room until four hours has passed. That it's better to be at the hospital in case of a bi-phasic reaction. He said to ignore the hospital staff and wait. [/b]
My allergist also told me not to leave the hospital.....but to
sit in the waiting room until the four hours have passed.
This must be a common problem!
Hope your little guy is OK. Do you know how the contact reaction happened?
Thank you everyone for your responses and advice. Hopefully, there will not be a next time, but if there is, maybe I will handle things better.
My son is fine now. Back to his normal self. We don't know for sure what caused the reaction. We think it was peanut butter residue. Third time it happened at school. A letter will go home today asking parents not to send peanut or nut products to school and they will have a strict hand washing policy as just the nut free table is not working.
Thanks again. Stay safe.