Mother Creates Bracelet to Help Save Children with Severe Allergies

For Pilar Moreno Carrillo, a nurse at Vall d’Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona, allergies were not just a clinical issue, rather, they became something deeply personal.
In 2020, her young son, who was about eight years, suffered a severe allergic reaction at school. Pilar rushed there and found him struggling to breathe in an episode of anaphylaxis. In that moment, the fear every parent dreads became real. But what stayed with her most was something her son said afterwards. “Mum, next time, don’t run so fast to come get me. If you have an accident or die on the way here, no one will be able to save me.”
Those words stayed with Pilar for a long time.
As both a nurse and a mother, she realized something alarming: outside a hospital, many people simply don’t know how to recognize or respond to a life-threatening allergic reaction. Teachers, caregivers, and other parents may want to help, but often lack the information or confidence to act quickly.
Pilar understood that the problem was not the absence of medical knowledge.
The problem was access: in an emergency involving a child, the right information must be visible, simple, and instantly accessible. This realization led her to create HERIX allergy awareness bracelet.
HERIX is a wearable bracelet designed for children with food allergies. It combines visual allergen icons with a QR code linking to a short instructional video explaining how to recognize a severe allergic reaction and how to use an adrenaline auto-injector. In seconds, anyone nearby can access clear guidance using their smartphone.
The project quickly gained recognition. HERIX won the Enfermería Emprende Award, an initiative created to identify and support innovative projects led by nurses. The award included €5,000 and a training scholarship to help bring the idea closer to reality.
Since then, Pilar has been working to move HERIX from idea to impact, developing the first 600 prototype units, each including interchangeable clips representing seven common food allergens.
What started as a mother’s response to a terrifying moment has grown into an innovation designed to protect children everywhere—helping families, schools, and communities respond faster when every second counts.
HERIX carries the message Pilar presented with the project:
“Your superpower, always with you.”

Adapted from:
https://www.enferalba.com/files/noticias/documentos/102.pdf
https://www.cugat.cat/noticies/de-langoixa-duna-mare-a-una-solucio-aixi-...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tObdJ3d-Zww