Do you have a food allergy? Ga businesses can now have life-saving drug

Restaurants, churches, shopping malls and other businesses are now legally allowed to stock and administer auto-injectable epinephrine.

Public and private schools have already been allowed to keep supplies of the drug to treat severe allergic reactions. But a growing number of individuals with food allergies prompted lawmakers in 2015 to let private businesses stock epinephrine too.

“For an individual experiencing anaphylaxis, a potentially fatal allergic reaction, it is crucial they receive treatment immediately,” said Patrick O’Neal, M.D., director of Health Protection, Georgia Department of Public Health. “Without an injection of epinephrine, a patient might stop breathing or their heart could stop beating before EMS arrives or before the patient reaches a hospital emergency department.”