DETROIT – Local 4 wants to make your summer safer! Join us for our July Go 4 It event: First Aid Basics.
In partnership with the American Red Cross and U-M Dearborn, we’re offering a free 50-minute first aid class to help you prepare for everyday emergencies.
---> Go 4 It: Learn First Aid Basics with a free 50-minute class
One key skill the Red Cross will teach is how to use an EpiPen and recognize when it’s needed. This lifesaving knowledge is critical for anyone encountering a severe allergic reaction.
“The biggest thing that people need to know is that one in 13 children have severe food allergies,” said Lindsey Spangler, a nurse practitioner and food allergy mom. “Thirty-three million Americans have severe food allergies, so it’s almost one to two kids in every classroom.”
Spangler also works with the Peoria chapter of Red Sneakers for Oakley, an organization dedicated to raising awareness about food allergies and preventing food allergy deaths.
“Oakley was 11 years old when he tragically passed away due to a severe allergic reaction, anaphylaxis,” Spangler said. “His family at the time was never really educated on the severity of food allergies. They didn’t carry epinephrine, and he mistakenly ate a piece of cake that had his allergen in it.”
“He loved his red sneakers, and so Red Sneakers for Oakley was founded,” she added.
Spangler emphasized that an EpiPen needs to be administered immediately if someone with a severe allergy begins suffering a reaction.
“If somebody is having an allergic reaction, they need to be able to help somebody quickly recognize that and then administer the epinephrine to save a life,” she said.
She has worked closely with her community to get EpiPens in more places and teach people how to use them.
“One of our biggest goals in the Peoria area is to really make it the first allergy-friendly town and city. And we did that about a year ago. We have now three restaurants that carry epinephrine,” Spangler said. “We now have an early learning center that’s allergy friendly, and we donated epinephrine to them, and we partnered with our big Civic Center, a big theater and arena.”
Spangler hopes more communities will be inspired to do the same and is thrilled that more Metro Detroiters will be learning about EpiPens.
Epinephrine is also commonly needed to treat bee sting allergies.
You can learn more about the signs of a severe allergic reaction and how to use an EpiPen next Tuesday, July 15.
---> Go 4 It: Learn First Aid Basics with a free 50-minute class