Mylan Specialty LP has launched www.Anaphylaxis101.com, a comprehensive, community-inspired resource for families, school staff and students. Its is designed to raise awareness against life-threatening allergic reactions (anaphylaxis) in the school setting. This enhanced website, which is part of the Get Schooled in Anaphylaxis initiative, now includes a personalized, virtual tour to access resources provided by leading patient, professional and advocacy groups.
This fall, the educational tools will be brought directly into communities via an augmented reality exhibit that will travel the country to drive home the importance of raising awareness about anaphylaxis and being prepared when anaphylaxis occurs.
When logging on to www.Anaphylaxis101.com, visitors will have the option to enter a virtual experience or find useful resources and materials tailored to their role in the school community and where they live. The goal is for students, parents, teachers, administrators, school nurses and other community members to be able to access information specific to their needs and to learn how they can contribute to raising anaphylaxis awareness and preparedness in their hometown.
To introduce the resources available at www.Anaphylaxis101.com, an interactive exhibit using animated videos and the latest "augmented reality" technology will tour the country. At the Get Schooled in Anaphylaxis: An Interactive Experience exhibit, visitors will activate images on a 120-square-foot mural through use of the provided tablets or their personal smartphones after downloading the free Anaphylaxis101 mobile application. They also will receive educational materials and giveaways, with a special offer for the first 100 people who visit the exhibit on each stop of the 10-city tour.
"Proper response to anaphylaxis can be a matter of life or death, so knowing what part we can each play in furthering awareness and preparedness, particularly in the school community, is critical," said Hemant Sharma, MD, Associate Chief of the Division of Allergy and Immunology at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, DC. "Having digital tools centralized and tailored to support those in the school-based setting is a tremendous asset that will help educate the public about this significant public health issue."
The expanded website includes an extensive library of downloadable tools and resources from leading patient, professional and advocacy organizations to support personal and school-based anaphylaxis education. The site is designed to help meet the information needs of the extended community impacted by potentially life-threatening allergies.
The Get Schooled in Anaphylaxis initiative offers practical information to educate the school community to help those at risk for life-threatening allergic reactions avoid their triggers, recognize anaphylaxis signs and symptoms and understand how to quickly get appropriate treatment and immediate medical care when anaphylaxis occurs.
Anaphylaxis is a life-threatening allergic reaction that can occur when the body is exposed to an allergen. Children and adolescents are among those most at-risk for anaphylaxis due to increased exposure to potential allergic triggers. Symptoms may include trouble breathing, chest pain, skin hives or redness of the skin, tightness in the throat, swelling of the lips and/or tongue, nausea, dizziness, a decrease in blood pressure and/or fainting.
Anaphylaxis symptoms may progress rapidly and become life-threatening, requiring prompt recognition and treatment initiation. While avoidance of allergic triggers is the critical first step in managing life-threatening allergies, allergens are not always obvious and accidental exposure may still happen.
Food allergy guidelines developed by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), recommend epinephrine as the only first-line treatment for anaphylaxis management and that it be available at all times to those at risk for anaphylaxis. If experiencing anaphylaxis, a person should use an epinephrine auto-injector and seek immediate emergency medical attention.
Mylan Specialty, a subsidiary of Mylan Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development, manufacturing and marketing of prescription drug products for the treatment of respiratory diseases, life-threatening allergic reactions and psychiatric disorders.