Any childminders out there with allergies (and need epipen)

onceinabluemoon · 30-04-2011, 10:32 PM

Had another reaction tonight and had to go to hospital in an ambulance cos my tongue and throat/back of nose etc swelled up as well as my face.

No idea what it is but I have to go for allergy tests (doc thinks it may be a preservative)

Possibly may have to have an epipen which leaves me a bit worried in case I cant child mind any more

So anybody else out there need to carry an epipen and still allowed to CM?

**sarah707** · 01-05-2011, 07:44 AM

Poor you!

I hope you are feeling better this morning.

You need to ring Ofsted Tuesday. The usual is that they will ask for a report from your doctor / consultant... and then get their health people involved and ask you to see them.

A decision will be taken based on the risk of you keeling over in front of the children / not being able to take care of them.

However because you have been hospitalised they might come to see you as well to decide whether they need to stop you minding while the tests are ongoing. I did hear of that happening to one childminder some years ago but I think it's worst case scenario.

For now I would write a RA showing you have thought about how you will manage a reaction and that you will avoid all foods that might cause you to react.

Have the docs advised you to buy some Piriton syrup? It helps if you swish it round your mouth well before swallowing.

Take it easy today and feel better soon xx

**Winnie** · 01-05-2011, 08:26 AM

i'm sure there is a childminder in west sussex that carries an epipen- i've met her at a conference....and i'm pretty sure she works alone...may be someone on here knows her.
I also met two ladies running a pre-school (on a first aid course) and one of them carries an epipen, she still didnt know what her trigger was even after testing. They hadnt even bothered to tell ofsted - i asked cos i'm nosy

hope you are feeling better today

onceinabluemoon · 01-05-2011, 09:02 AM

Thanks ladies

Sarah, Ofsted are aware that I have multiple allergies as I said about them on my medical form so it shouldn't be a problem. I will do all the necessary visiting and calling etc on Tuesday, thank you for the advice.

Winnie, thank you too. It's reassuring to know that people do still mind with epipens. Funnily enough I have epipen training soon so at least will know what I'll have to do, lol. It's worse care scenario and may not even come to that, just getting myself mentally prepared so I dont have to panic if my GP decides I need to carry one to be on the safe side.

I feel a bit better today but still look a little like a the Stay Puft Marshmallow man, lol!

**kindredspirits** · 01-05-2011, 10:27 AM

now I might be totally wrong here as I didn't sleep at all last night - but don't you home school your kids who are getting into teenage years?? If they are at home during minding hours you could resonably explain that there is always a responsible enough person around to dial 999 and then call all mindees parents in case of dire emergency???

I think as long as you have RA'd all possible circumstances I can't see any reason why they would stop you minding - you need an emergency contact really close by, another CM perhaps, who you could drop call/text in an emergency, someone who has a key to your home and could call parents to collect if you were incapacitated.

**aunt sally** · 01-05-2011, 10:39 AM

Morning, I have an epi-pen as I have a severe allergic reaction to alcohol. Just a few sips causes my face to start burning/swelling etc. I also react to alcohol in wash products for the skin and any minute amounts of alcohol in food . I had my epi-pen before I registered and it was fine. I had to fill out the normal medical form with my GP but nothing further. My son aged 11 has carried an epi-pen since he was nearly 3 years. He reacts to all sorts of things but for the past 2 yeas has taken daily medication all year round and this is controlling his reactions well. I do worry sometimes that myself or son may have a reaction with mindees around but once your allergies are controlled then the chance of this is very low. On the positive side, parents with children who have any type of allergies, wether its food related or environment related can feel confident that you understand the importance of their child's allergies and reactions. and are well able to deal with it. I help out regularly at my children's school ,especially on day trips and I usually have the children with allergies in my group.