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Device Helps Napa County Schools Protect Against Deadly Reactions
Napa Valley Register, Tuesday, April 12, 2005
By PAT STANLEY
Register Staff Writer
It took the 1987 death of a Calistoga boy who had an allergic reaction to peanuts and several years of lobbying by local officials, but parents today can breathe a bit easier knowing their children are better protected against potentially deadly allergic reactions.
Today, every school in the Napa Valley Unified School District and most others in the county have at least two EpiPen Auto Injectors — disposable drug delivery systems distributed by Dey Labs of Napa.
The spring-activated device, which looks like an ink pen, injects the proper dose of epinephrine via a concealed needle.
At least one adult can attest to its effectiveness.
"It saved my life," said Susan Hall, assistant principal at Silverado Middle School.
Hall was supervising lunch duty at the east Napa campus in October 2003 when a yellow jacket flew up her pant leg and stung her on the thigh. "I thought it was no big deal," the school administrator recalled. "I thought I'd just get some ice and go to the doctor."
She walked to the office of school nurse Anita Henning, but said by the time she got there "the inner thigh was softball size, red and swollen." Henning had her sit down and hold an ice pack to the swollen area. She also insisted Hall not drive to Kaiser Hospital.
"I told her I felt funny and my throat felt weird. As soon as I mentioned the throat, she went into action," Hall recalled.
Bells went off for Henning, whose training told her Hall may be going into anaphylactic shock, an acute allergic reaction that affects the entire body.
"She got the EpiPen and gave me a shot in the leg. That's what saved my life. She's my guardian angel."
Hall realized she was in serious trouble when, before the life-saving medication started to work, "I began tugging at my collar, having difficulty swallowing. It was very scary."
Fire Department paramedics arrived and administered more life-saving drugs before Hall was whisked by ambulance to Queen of the Valley Hospital. She said the paramedics confirmed she could have died had the EpiPen not been used within minutes of the sting.
Epinephrine, an adrenaline, can delay reactions to insect stings or food allergies until the victim can arrive at a hospital for more advanced care, according to Dr. George Monteverdi, who testified in Sacramento in support of the law allowing EpiPens to be available at schools. He was also instrumental in training school nurses and others in the use of the device.
He said many people are susceptible to severe allergic reactions, and don't realize it. "Generally food (allergies) are more severe, even lethal," he said.
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