A 13-year-old boy, Karanbir Cheema, lost his life when a piece of cheese was thrown at him by a classmate. This unfortunate incident took place on June 28, 2017, at a school in London, UK.
Karanbir had severe allergies to various substances, including dairy, wheat, gluten, egg, milk, and tree nuts. Although he did not consume the cheese, it made contact with his skin, hitting his neck, and causing a severe reaction. Immediately after the incident, he was rushed to Great Ormond Street Hospital in critical condition.
Sadly, despite the efforts to save him, Karanbir passed away a few days later. The cause of death was later determined to be post-cardiac arrest syndrome. Heartbroken, his parents had to make the difficult decision to turn off his life-support machine.
In an interview on This Morning, Karanbir’s mother, Rina, shared their heart-wrenching farewell. She mentioned that they didn’t want to prolong his suffering, saying, “He smiled when the machine was turned off… we said our last goodbyes before he was taken down, and he had a smile on his face.”
Karanbir carried an EpiPen with him at school, but it was discovered that the medication was nearly a year past its expiration date. The adrenaline administered from this outdated EpiPen was the only treatment before the teenager experienced cardiac arrest.
The classmate who threw the cheese claimed that he was only playing around and unaware of Karanbir’s dairy allergy. While severe allergic reactions from skin contact are rare, they have rarely been fatal.
Dr. Adam Fox, a pediatric allergy consultant, stated during the inquest into Karanbir’s death that such a severe reaction from mere skin contact was unprecedented. Despite extensive research, no similar fatal cases were found.
