A MUM from Sunninghill whose son nearly died from an allergic reaction is going toe-to-toe with a national allergy society over its new EpiPen recommendations.

Iris Jones would have lost her son Freddie to delayed anaphylactic shock two years ago, if it had not been for the swift and decisive actions of his teacher Jo Griffith at Holy Trinity CE Primary School.

Mrs Griffith, 40, went on to win two Allergy Hero awards for her bravery.

In the light of her son's traumatic experience, Mrs Jones has been a tireless crusader for better allergy awareness.

She recently started a campaign with two other concerned mums, challenging what she labels "dangerous guidelines" from the British Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (BSACI).

#CarryTwo is calling for the BSACI to backtrack on its advice allowing allergy sufferers to carry one EpiPen.

The society has broken ranks with other leading bodies including Allergy UK, the Anaphylaxis Campaign and the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, which all recommend a minimum of two adrenaline auto-injectors.

Celebrity comedian Rory Bremner has got behind an online petition to BSACI, which had nearly 50,000 signatures at the time of writing.

Mrs Jones said: "While I understand the NHS is under great strain and there is a need to cut costs, to start with lifesaving medicines that allergy sufferers depend on is a huge mistake.

"There is also the psychological impact of knowing you only have one shot at saving your life while waiting and hoping an ambulance will arrive in time."

Mrs Jones, who is originally from Ireland, says she is very lucky to have a GP who is supportive of her seven-year-old son's condition.

But she stresses that many other allergy patients may not be so fortunate.

"These recommendations are putting GPs under immense pressure in a ten-minute appointment to assess someone's allergy," she added.

"As a mother who came close to losing her son, I won't sit back and accept such dangerous guidelines."

The Sunninghill mum-of-two hopes #CarryTwo will spotlight the difficulties faced by allergy sufferers up and down the country.

She said: "We are already a minority group who face many battles and dare I say discrimination. These guidelines really do set us back in many ways.

"I would like all bodies to be united in that all sufferers, regardless of age or postcode, should be entitled to carry two pens."

In a statement, the BSACI emphasised that its new EpiPen advice contained no blanket recommendations.

"The number of auto-injectors a patient requires may be one, two or none," it added.

"Only through a thorough individual risk assessment can a patient be prescribed the appropriate number of auto-injectors required to be able to manage the condition safely."

To sign the #CarryTwo petition go to http://chn.ge/2dns8dv. For more information visit facebook.com/CarryTwoPens.