Caroline B. is a member of the Montreal Anaphylaxis Support Group, and the mother of a teenage daughter with life-threatening food allergies. She recently took our AllergyAware.ca online course, Anaphylaxis in the Community. We reached out to Caroline to ask about her experience, and what she took away from the course.
What were you hoping to learn from the course before you signed up?
I was hoping to learn more about anaphylaxis and refresh my memory of anything I may not have remembered about the use of an EpiPen® in an emergency.
What allergies are you and your child managing?
I have a 15-year-old daughter who is allergic to fish, seafood, cashews, and pistachios, and at risk of anaphylaxis.
What was the experience of taking the online course like for you? What did you learn?
I was reassured that I was still as vigilant in different scenarios. I took all three courses to challenge my ability to respond appropriately to a child or person experiencing anaphylaxis in different settings. It reminded me to never be too careful or complacent when considering anaphylaxis and it reminded me that administering the epi [epinephrine] is better than “waiting to see” if a person is already showing signs of anaphylaxis and has been exposed to their allergen.
Is there anything else about the course or managing allergies that you’d like to share?
I feel that everyone can benefit from taking these courses and challenging themselves, by testing their knowledge. Even parents of children experiencing anaphylaxis can question whether or not administering the epi [epinephrine] is considered rash, yet time is of the essence. We can become accustomed to what “our child looks like” experiencing anaphylaxis and the different scenarios help remind us how different [symptoms] can look in different people.
AllergyAware.ca offers free online anaphylaxis courses for the community, schools and child care settings which were developed by Food Allergy Canada and Leap Learning Technologies Inc. in collaboration with the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
Learn more at AllergyAware.ca
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