Life Threatening Allergies

Allergic reactions to food, latex, insects, and medications are very serious and potentially life threatening medical emergencies. If your child has an allergy it is very important to contact your child’s school nurse to develop reasonable and practical classroom and school based plans to prevent exposure to allergens. An allergy action plan will also be developed to outline the specific care for your child in case of an exposure at school. For your child's safety it is also strongly recommended that you give the school nurse permission to share your child's allergy information with appropriate staff. 

Each school in Norwood is equipped with epinephrine (Epi-pens). School nurses educate staff to know how to enact a Red Bag Alert and administer an Epi-pen should a student, staff member or visitor experience a life threatening allergic reaction at school.

According to the Food Allergy Research and Education organization food allergy is a growing public health issue that impacts almost every school across the United States. Nearly 6 million children in the U.S. have a food allergy, which equates to 1 in 13, or roughly 2 students in every classroom. Studies indicate that 16-18% of school-age children who have food allergies have had a reaction in school. In addition, in approximately 25% of the reactions that occur at school, the student had not yet been diagnosed with food allergy.

If your child does not have a food allergy please do not send food items into school without checking with the teacher or school nurse first. Everyone’s help and co-operation  is needed to keep our students with life threatening allergies safe at school!