21/01/2023
We shared the details of this post a while ago, but it's an important reminder and will be new to our more recent followers.
"Our precious girl was 15 years old when she died from an anaphylactic reaction to sesame seeds that she was allergic to. During her inquest in 2018, an allergy specialist was asked why in her opinion, the 2 Epi-Pens she had been injected with, had not saved her.
"Natasha's anaphylactic reaction came on fast and it quickly caused swelling of her airways. Her father injected her with 2 Epi-Pens in an attempt to reverse the allergic reaction. The first Epi-Pen was injected into her right outer thigh. But Natasha wasn't improving and she begged for the second Epi-Pen to be given which her father did, once again into her right outer thigh.
"But it made no difference at all.
"At Natasha's inquest, when an allergy specialist was questioned as to why the adrenaline had not made any difference, she told the coroner, that one of the reasons she didn't improve was that when the first Epi-Pen had been injected into Natasha's thigh, the adrenaline would have caused all the blood vessels in that area to constrict. Her allergic reaction was so severe that she required another dose of adrenaline to be administered quickly, but when injected into the same place as before, the adrenaline would not have been able to enter the blood vessels - it had nowhere to go. To counter this, she told the coroner that the second Epi-Pen injection of adrenaline should have been injected into Natasha's other leg - her opposite thigh.
"In all our GP and allergy clinic visits, in all our online research, we had never been given such information and yet it made perfect sense. Some allergy specialists say it doesn't matter which thigh you inject a 2nd dose of adrenaline into and others recommend injecting into the opposite thigh. We still urgently need clarity from medical professionals."
Tanya x
*Natasha's Foundation does not provide medical advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare providers.
