CDC issues children's allergy guidelines for schools

(UPI) -- On Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a set of guidelines to manage children's food allergies at school.

This is the first set of such guidelines the U.S. government has put out, as the number of school-age children suffering from food allergies climbs.

One in 20 children in the United States now have food allergies. The CDC found the prevalence of food allergies among children increased 18 percent between 1997 and 2007.

The guide contains information for schools on how to make faculty and staff aware of children's food allergies, and how to handle them should an allergic reaction occur.

It also recommends schools have epinephrine stocked -- the EpiPen brand auto-injector being most commonly used -- to respond to potentially fatal anaphylaxis. State legislatures have recently been updating rules to allow schools to stock epinephrine more easily.

The report also includes a list of typical symptoms communicated by children who are having an allergic reaction. Kids may say, "It feels like something is poking my tongue," "My tongue feels like there is hair on it," or "My tongue (or mouth) is tingling (or burning)."