EpiPens save Reno-area students (with video)

Until his third-period class on Feb. 12, Andrue Casado didn’t know he had a life-threatening food allergy.

During a home economics class, Andrue ate raspberries and soy nuts for the first time. Within minutes, his throat tightened, he developed a rash and things got blurry

“I couldn’t breathe,” said Andrue, an eighth-grader at Shaw Middle School.

Had it not been for an epinephrine shot in his school, Andrue might have died. But last year, the 2013 Nevada Legislature passed a law requiring all public schools to have EpiPens, a single-dose shot of epinephrine given to people having a life-threatening reaction to food, bites or another allergen.

Andrue, 14, is the first Washoe County School student saved by the new law.

Shaw school nurse Robin Reinders grabbed the EpiPen from the school office and jabbed it into Andrue’s left thigh.

“I am so thankful we had it,” Reinders said, estimating about 1,000 children districtwide have allergies serious enough to require an EpiPen prescription.

In cases like Andrue’s, where an allergy is unknown, or for children who don’t have or forget to bring an EpiPen, the new law enacted in July is saving lives.

“My doctor said I would have died,” said Andrue, who will undergo allergy testing to pinpoint what may have caused his reaction.

Just a few days after Andrue’s episode, a student at Damonte Ranch High School had a life-threatening allergic reaction during lunch. A staff member administered an EpiPen, and the ninth-grader has recovered and is back at school.

Most states allow schools to stockpile EpiPens, though Nevada is among a handful of states that require schools to have the medicine on hand.

About one in every 13 children in the United States has a food allergy, according to Food Allergy Research and Education, an advocacy group.

In Nevada, the legislation was spearheaded by Sen. Debbie Smith, D-Sparks.

“In some respects, we are ahead of the curve,” Smith said. Because pharmaceutical company Mylan Inc. supplied all 663 public schools in Nevada with EpiPens, Smith said the legislation was easier to pass. EpiPens cost about $250 each and could have cost the district as much as $100,000 to start.

But for Smith, not having these in schools could have cost two students their lives this month.

“When you see a life was saved because of it, you just think how important this really is,” Smith said.

What are EpiPens

EpiPen is a brand name for single injected dose of epinephrine. It looks like a large marker. It is used to treat anaphylaxis, a sudden, severe and potentially fatal allergic reaction to a food, bug bite or allergen. Injected into the outer thigh, it gives a dose that can alleviate symptoms until help can arrive.

In Nevada, all public schools started to stock the pens last summer. They are kept unlocked in school offices, and several staff members at each school are trained to administer the shot.

Watch online

Watch Shaw Middle School student Andrue Casado describe how an EpiPen saved his life on RGJ.com/videos.