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 Researchers surveyed 559 leaders at 258 summer camps about food
allergy policies, training, medication availability, anaphylaxis
events, and confidence in staff to recognize and treat anaphylaxis -
a potentially life-threatening allergic reaction that can be
triggered by things like bee stings or peanuts.
Overall, 95% of survey participants said kids with food allergies
attended their camps. But only 48% required campers with allergies
to have individualized emergency action plans developed by a
clinician as a condition of attendance.
"Preparedness is key - every child with a history of food allergy
should have an emergency action plan," said lead study author Dr.
Natalie Schellpfeffer of the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor.
"These plans should be formulated within the child's medical home,
which is comprised of the child's primary care doctor, allergist and
parents," Schellpfeffer said by email.
Campers can develop anaphylaxis symptoms rapidly once they're
exposed to an allergen, making it critical that counselors or other
adults recognize these symptoms and know how to respond. Kids can
have these reactions from foods, medications and insect stings.
"Common symptoms of an allergic reaction can include rash, trouble
breathing, frequent cough, vomiting, diarrhea, facial swelling,
dizziness, lightheadedness," Schellpfeffer said. "The first line
treatment for anaphylaxis is injection with an epinephrine
autoinjector," such as the EpiPen.
In the study, 24% of participants said they had treated anaphylaxis
with epinephrine within the previous two years at their camp. These
respondents were more than twice as likely to have training sessions
for staff on recognizing and responding to anaphylaxis.
One third of camp leaders, however, were not confident that their
staff could manage anaphylaxis, and 16% said they weren't satisfied
with their training materials.
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These results suggest that summer camps need more complete food
allergy polices and more thorough training for staff, the study
authors conclude in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology:
In Practice.
"As awareness of food allergy trickles over from schools to camps,
it is clear that the camp environment offers a unique set of risks,"
said Dr. Steve Handoyo of the University of Chicago.
"It is critical that parents are aware of these risks, such as staff
potentially being teenagers themselves, with less awareness of
individual conditions due to rapid turnover of campers," Handoyo,
who wasn't involved in the study, said by email. "Food preparation
will also differ from schools and homes, there may be less available
staff trained to treat, and remote location may hinder ready access
to hospitals."
Parents should talk to camps in advance to discuss their child's
allergy and precautions needed, advised Dr. Ruchi Gupta, director of
the Center for Food Allergy & Asthma Research at Northwestern
University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.
"They can review their action plan and medications with the camp
staff and make sure everyone is trained on how to recognize a
reaction and how to treat it," Gupta advised.
SOURCE: https://bit.ly/36nRHoc Journal of Allergy and Clinical
Immunology: In Practice, online November 23, 2019.
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