Gunshy

A Reuters article caught my eye tonight. It talked about anaphylaxis in general and specifically mentioned that many parents are apprehensive in using an EpiPen. I have blogged about the fact that teachers and other care givers are frightened by the thought of using an EpiPen to save a child's life.

Parents too are frightened, and perhaps even to a great extent since it is their child's life that is hanging in the balance. I tend to be calm in the moment of an emergency and would not hesitate to use an EpiPen. The statistics say that there is a reasonable chance that we will have to do this. Am I ready? Yes. Would I use the term 'comfortable' to described how I feel about the thought of having to save our daughter's life with an EpiPen? No.

Be ready, but don't feel bad if the thought of using an EpiPen on your child makes you queasy. I think I would be more concerned if it didn't.

The bottom line however is that in the event of an emergency, you need to be able to put your fears aside and act quickly. There would be no time to waste. You would need to be strong!

I would be interested in comments from those who have had to do this.