Guest
Post
by Teresa Jackson
February 9, 2010
Teresa Jackson recently posted an article about food allergies on the Online Nurse Practitioner Schools website, which provides information on online nurse practitioner programs, degrees, training, and career and salary information. In her latest article, she addressed several ways on how school nurses should handle food allergies with their students.
Here is the complete post extracted from the Online Nurse Practitioner Schools website.
Handling Food Allergies When You're a School Nurse
We eat to live, but when the very food we eat has the potential to harm and even kill us, we have to be careful about what we eat. Food allergies are dangerous, especially when they're caused by ingredients that are common in most foods and when you're not aware that what you're eating could make you ill. This makes children vulnerable to symptoms because they don't often understand why they're not allowed to eat certain foods. This makes the job of a school nurse who is responsible for the well being of the students even more important, because they must first be aware of their students' allergies in order to handle them. A few ways to do this are:
• Schedule meetings with parents: As a school nurse, it's advisable to schedule meetings with parents and ask them about their child's special needs, if they have any. You could ask teachers to send information through the children to ask parents of students who have allergies and who need watching over to meet them in person so that you can discuss their health and make the necessary precautions. Most parents of children who have food allergies tend to meet you without a request, but even so, it's best you don't leave anything to chance.
• Monitor younger children: Get in touch with supervisors at the canteen and ask them to watch over younger children who suffer from food allergies so that they don't mistakenly eat foods that contain compounds that they are allergic to. These kids often bring lunch from home, but if they're tempted to share from a friend's plate, there could potentially be trouble. Also, it's wise to be on the watch so that they spot children who don't know that they have allergies exhibiting adverse symptoms after eating.
• Stock up on medication: You must be prepared to handle any emergency that could arise, and this is why you must stock up on medication, especially those drugs that are essential to provide first aid and relieve the symptoms of any student who exhibits adverse symptoms after eating. Also ensure that your stock of medicines and drugs is well within the expiry date.
• Know contact details of parents or guardians: And finally, make sure you have all the necessary contact details of the parents of children who have known food allergies. It is imperative that you know how to get in touch with them in case anything happens and their child needs to be taken to a hospital or other healthcare facility for further treatment, of if they need to be taken home during school hours.
While most food allergies do not cause severe complications, it is best to avoid risks and monitor children at risk closely.
This guest article is written by Teresa Jackson, she writes on the subject of Nurse Practitioner Schools. Email her at teresa.jackson19@gmail.com.
Source:
www.onlinenursepractitionerschools.com