# Fatal stupidity - school keeps kid's asthma inhaler locked up
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fatal-stupidity-school-keeps-kids-asthma-inhaler-locked-up/676003
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [December 10, 2013, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fatal-stupidity-school-keeps-kids-asthma-inhaler-locked-up/676003 "2013-12-10T18:51:26Z")
**Posts on this page:** 14
**Page:** 4
### Author:  [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2013, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fatal-stupidity-school-keeps-kids-asthma-inhaler-locked-up/676003/61 "2013-12-13T04:15:27Z")
> [@j666](#):
>
> ??
> That was my point.
On rereading, yep. Sorry about that
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### Author:  [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2013, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fatal-stupidity-school-keeps-kids-asthma-inhaler-locked-up/676003/62 "2013-12-13T04:43:24Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#):
>
> I’m stunned to find out Canadians are this stupid. This kind of stupidity is usually American.
I’m personally shocked and appalled, which is quite jarring since I was expecting to be smug.
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### Author:  [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2013, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fatal-stupidity-school-keeps-kids-asthma-inhaler-locked-up/676003/63 "2013-12-14T04:52:10Z")
> [@CrazyCatLady](#):
>
> How long are those things good for? I had an inhaler for a while a long time back, and it seems like they expired after a year or so, in which case you’d have to pitch the thing before the next school year started anyway. Am I misremembering, or maybe epipens have a much longer shelf life?
Epi-pens actually have a very SHORT shelf life - a year or so is typical (though I’ve heard that as long as the fluid isn’t visibly discolored it’s still useful). But if you got a new one in January, it’s good for a while after the end of the school year and shouldn’t be chucked.
Inhalers have a multi-year shelf life so it’s especially wacko to toss them - but that’s the school policy.
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### Author:  [@bathsheba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bathsheba)
#### Post date: [December 22, 2013, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fatal-stupidity-school-keeps-kids-asthma-inhaler-locked-up/676003/64 "2013-12-22T01:25:12Z")
RN here - and I am not allowed to give Tylenol without a doctor’s order. So if your kid is having a febrile convulsion and there is no doc about, expect some brain damage. Which come to think of it, is probably what happened to most administrators.
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### Author:  [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)
#### Post date: [December 26, 2013, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fatal-stupidity-school-keeps-kids-asthma-inhaler-locked-up/676003/65 "2013-12-26T23:16:04Z")
> [@bathsheba](#):
>
> RN here - and I am not allowed to give Tylenol without a doctor’s order. So if your kid is having a febrile convulsion and there is no doc about, expect some brain damage. Which come to think of it, is probably what happened to most administrators.
This might be a good thing, given the “narrow therapeutic index”.
> **[Use Only as Directed](https://www.propublica.org/article/tylenol-mcneil-fda-use-only-as-directed)**
>
> About 150 Americans a year die by accidentally taking too much acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol. The toll does not have to be so high.
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### Author:  [@bathsheba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bathsheba)
#### Post date: [December 27, 2013, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fatal-stupidity-school-keeps-kids-asthma-inhaler-locked-up/676003/66 "2013-12-27T00:19:40Z")
“It’s regular strength tylenol. Here’s what you do: Get her to open her mouth, take a handful and throw it at her. Whatever sticks - that’s the correct dose!”
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### Author:  [@Tee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tee)
#### Post date: [December 27, 2013, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fatal-stupidity-school-keeps-kids-asthma-inhaler-locked-up/676003/67 "2013-12-27T18:50:34Z")
There was another national effort this year to require that schools have epi pens on hand in case of emergencies, for general use. It met with resistance along the way from all sorts of people, all knowing that kids having anaphylactic reactions might otherwise die – or have died – within reach of a dozen or so epi pens that they can’t use, because those are reserved for other students. Rules, forms, etc. “Sorry, I can’t save you - I might get fired.”
I don’t like to spend too much this on that because a) in fairness, that scenario is probably rare, and b) as I already indicated, we’re outlaws. One kid even carries Midol with her at certain times, and I’ve warned her not to share it with friends because on campus that’s equivalent to selling crack, but that’s all I’ll do, or say.
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### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [December 27, 2013, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fatal-stupidity-school-keeps-kids-asthma-inhaler-locked-up/676003/68 "2013-12-27T20:48:17Z")
> [@The\_Vorlon](#):
>
> School policy was to keep the inhalers under lock and key and staff repeatedly confiscated spare inhalers from Ryan, added Gibbons.
>
> “I received many a phone call stating Ryan had taken an inhaler to school and they found it in his bag and would like me to come pick it up because he wasn’t even allowed to bring it home with him,”
>
> "Madam, there are three solutions for this:
>
> 1–give my son the inhaler
>
> 2–I come get it. My time is $75 per hour or fraction thereof, and 56.5 cents per mile.
>
> 3–I swear out a theft complaint with the police, naming you personally.
>
> Your choice."
The laughter from the Police might hurt your ears. The school has the legal authority to do this very stupid thing. It’s not the Principal, it’s the school district etc, whoever writes the stupid policies. And, if the Principal demurs on the stupid policies, he’ll get fired. One problem is- pinning down exactly what the policy is and who was responsible for promulgating it is often like nailing jello to a wall. The Principal’s clerk will simply say “it’s policy”. Dollars to donuts they will refuse to cite the policy or give you a copy of anything but the memo to the kid’s parents sent out.
There’s a decent chance it’s not really “policy” at all. Someone, somewhere, mis-interpreted the real policy and has gotten all "zero tolerance’ over it.
And this goes back to the Op and the question: “were criminal charges ever filed against anyone for this death?” - since there is likely a policy that requires this, then no, no charges can or will be filed. Mind you a civil lawsuit…
It’s odd tho, in all the news articles on this, I can;t find a single one which gives the Schools side. 😕
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### Author:  [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)
#### Post date: [December 29, 2013, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fatal-stupidity-school-keeps-kids-asthma-inhaler-locked-up/676003/69 "2013-12-29T22:15:06Z")
> [@DrDeth](#):
>
> It’s odd tho, in all the news articles on this, I can;t find a single one which gives the Schools side. 😕
What exactly do you think they could possibly say? There really isn’t a good excuse for this. Anything the school would try to say would sound stupid at best.
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### Author:  [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)
#### Post date: [December 30, 2013, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fatal-stupidity-school-keeps-kids-asthma-inhaler-locked-up/676003/70 "2013-12-30T01:11:10Z")
“You know those kids – they claim to have life threatening illnesses, but doncha know, it’s just an excuse to get high!” 😉
Besides, anything they do say could hurt them in an upcoming lawsuit. “The school declines to comment” is pretty common for a reason.
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### Author:  [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)
#### Post date: [December 30, 2013, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fatal-stupidity-school-keeps-kids-asthma-inhaler-locked-up/676003/71 "2013-12-30T02:48:33Z")
OK… not involving a school, but just as stupid.
[Teen dies](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2527512/Teenager-14-dies-street-allergic-reaction-peanuts-Chinese-buffet-pharmacy-refused-life-saving-adrenaline-injection-didnt-prescription.html) in Dublin due to anaphalactic reaction in front of a chemist (that’s a pharmacy for the USAians). Pharmacy refused to dispense an Epi Pen due to lack of a script.
The teen had a known nut allergy. Sadly the teen mistook satay sauce for curry sauce. The restaurant she was eating at did have a sign posted warning about nuts.
[saracsm]
But at least the pharmacy rigidly adhered to policy. 😢
[/sarcasm]
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### Author:  [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)
#### Post date: [December 30, 2013, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fatal-stupidity-school-keeps-kids-asthma-inhaler-locked-up/676003/72 "2013-12-30T04:15:18Z")
stupid, but not quite as stupid actually. the pharmacy did not take away the child’s epi pen. if you’re allergic to nuts _ **and** _ you’re going out to eat, you really should be carrying your own epi pen. either the parents were mistaken about the dangers of their daughter’s condition or they were negligent. hindsight being 20/20, i would have robbed the pharmacy and faced the consequences later.
the school, on the other hand, were responsible for the child’s safety; and had deliberately placed them in danger in favour of policy.
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### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [December 30, 2013, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fatal-stupidity-school-keeps-kids-asthma-inhaler-locked-up/676003/73 "2013-12-30T18:40:43Z")
> [@BigT](#):
>
> What exactly do you think they could possibly say? There really isn’t a good excuse for this. Anything the school would try to say would sound stupid at best.
They might quote the regulation that forced them to do this?
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### Author:  [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)
#### Post date: [December 30, 2013, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fatal-stupidity-school-keeps-kids-asthma-inhaler-locked-up/676003/74 "2013-12-30T20:18:47Z")
Right now, doing so would probably not be in their best interest. And that assumes there is a regulation, not just some dumbass school policy.
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