Back to School - Do You Have Your Forms That Allow Your Child to Carry an Inhaler and Epi?

 

Yeah, yeah.....I know it's summer and people are at the pool or lake. 

But school is just around the corner! 

You may be shopping for school supplies like clothes, backpacks, pens & pencils, scientific calculators, etc. 

School supplies vs medical supplies  

But - what about medical supplies? 

Does your child have enough puffs in their inhaler for the school year? When does it expire? 

Are their dual pack of epi auto injectors still in date? Epi also expires! 

Can you carry inhalers and epi in drug-free zones? 

Yes - and no  

When my kids were younger, they couldn't have acetaminophen or ibuprofen in their backpack. And my daughter definitely couldn't carry Midol. 

But - if you have the proper medical forms filled out at the beginning of each school year, your child can carry their inhaler and epi (instead of leaving it locked in the nurse's office) 

Did you know that it's legal for students to carry their own medicine in every state in the U.S.?

Each student MUST have a form from the school district that allows them to "self carry and self administer". 

Each school district is different - so check with your school nurse or call your school district and ask for the form. 

How does it work? 

My school nurse would always mail the form each summer for each of my kids. 

We would schedule a check up with asthma doc and take the form with us. 

Asthma Doc would fill it out and sign the form assuring that my kids could recognize the symptoms of an asthma attack -  and knew when and how to use their inhaler. 

I would also sign it.

Then I would take it to the school and the school nurse would review and sign it. 

Then it went in my child's file. 

I repeated this EVERY summer - for all 3 of my kids.  

That made it legal for them to carry their inhaler in their backpack or sports bag. My kids could keep it in their backpack during the day, or throw it in their sports bag for soccer games or track meets.

They didn't need to try to track down the school nurse to ask for their inhaler. 

Busy school nurses  

I don't know about your schools, but my school nurse would cover 5-6 schools. She would have one scheduled time at my kid's school (Monday's from 8am -11am)

I would tell my kids that if they were going to have an asthma attack, make sure they did it between those hours. jk

Of course you can't schedule an asthma attack! 

Allowing my kids to always carry their inhalers gave me peace of mind.

Younger kids may not be able to self carry inhalers or epi.

That's why you and your doctor need to decide when your child is ready.  

  Ask your school nurse or school district for the forms you need so your child can self carry their inhaler and or epi

Good luck!