Anyone take PB&J sandwiches through airport security?

[WendyinMaryland]

My son has a severe peanut allergy. There is a huge difference between one or two people eating peanut butter on a plane because they have brought it, and an ENTIRE PLANEFUL of people opening a bag all at once. My son did react once because of other people eating peanut butter, and no one touched him. He was OK, because I gave him his Benadryl. While I know that peanut butter can not be banned, I do appreciate airlines that do not serve it in en-masse ... I think that is a reasonable compromise.

When my son was born, and we found out about his allergy, I became much more aware of the presence of food ...... people walk around with food and eat constantly. We are a nation of on-the-move eaters. I went to my daughter's ballet recital, in a nice theatre, and the kid next to me broke out a bag of peanut M&M's and made a huge mess eating them. Quite frankly, allergies or not, people have become rude with food, period. It used to be considered impolite to eat in front of other people, and people did not snack so much ... they actually ate meals at a table. Again, until I had my son, I might have thought it was as simple as just avoiding planes ... but as my recital experience shows, food is everywhere. I do what I can to make him safe.

Personally, even before my son was born, I think peanut butter is way to pungent smelling of a food for close quarters. Just like I would not microwave certain seafood dishes at work because of the odor.

And yes, there are more allergic people than before. That does not mean it is bogus. The peanut has changed drastically over time ... not in taste, but in the genetic engineering of the seed to give it economically advantageous properties, such as a bigger harvest or the ability to store the peanuts longer before they are processed. It is not the same peanut that existed years ago.

We have other allergies in our family, too. But, most other foods are not anaphylaxic unless you personally ingest them. Peanuts, with their oil and their dust, are simply different. My son and husband are allergic to eggs, but I can sit right next to them and eat eggs with no problem. I would never do that with peanut butter.

Anyway, I did not mean to write an essay. This is an issue that is really easy to oversimplify ..... until it happens to you.

 

[thedonduck]

Do we ban peanuts at ballgames? Do we have to change the song from buy me some peanuts and cracker-jacks to buy me some pretzels? What if some people are allergic to pretzels???

Just to throw this out there (because I just saw it on the nightly news) many major league ballparks now have peanut free sections where no one is permitted to have anything that contains peanuts. Unfortunately it is part of times now and until we can figure out why so many children are coming down with such severe allergies to things like peanuts, we need to all become more vigilant in accommodating to those people.

 

[CamoMama]

If I have brought Uncrustables to eat on a flight, unless the allergic perso is my seatmate I will eat the sandwiches:

• They're thawed and at optimum eating level
• I'm an adult
• I don't drip / drop
• I don't smear
• I don't get peanut butter on anything (just in me)
• I wipe my hands and mouth and crumple the napkin and put it inside other trash
• I place my trash directly in the trash bags being held by the gloved Flight Attendants
• I don't kiss, lick, or slobber over anyone else on (or off) the plane.

Good lord, why would an adult want to eat uncrustables? They taste awful and they're terrible for you.

http://www.rodale.com/worst-food

"Back in the day, homemade peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were considered a quick lunch fix, but Smucker's has managed to turn this old favorite into a packaged supermarket product. Uncrustables are premade PB&J sandwiches with the crusts already removed, and they're full of dangerous high-fructose corn syrup and heart-damaging hydrogenated oils. They are devoid of healthy fiber, which makes you want to eat more in the long run."

 

[JMB123]

I didn't read all of the replies, so I don't know if this has been mentioned, but...the reason it's so important to ban peanuts on a flight where there is a person with a severe allergy is that an epipen only lasts 20 minutes. It would take a lot longer than that for a plane to land and an ambulance to bring the person to the hospital. Even if you bring several epipens, it's a very dangerous situation for a person with a life-threatening allergy.

If you're playing on a playground and your peanut allergic child gets peanut butter on them and has a reaction, you call 911. What do you do if this happens on an airplane?

On a side note, most airlines will only refrain from serving peanuts and/or make an announcement about not eating them if someone on the flight has the allergy. You have to pre-register as having an allergy and you have to confirm at the gate one hour prior to the flight leaving. This way, they have time to make sure there is an alternate snack available. On most airlines, you're given a document to hand to the flight attendant as a reminder.

It's a great idea to bring PB&J, just have an alternate available in case they ask you not to eat peanuts.

 

[pbrim]

Yes, you can take sandwiches. You could not take jars of peanut butter or jelly, but you can take sandwiches.

Can someone please explain this logic?

There is no logic. No rhyme or reason. All the nonsense we now have to go through at airports does not make us one whit safer and only costs money, damages our dignity, and sometimes endangers our health. It is not "security", it is "security theatre" designed to scare people so that they won't protest anything being done in the name of "security"

 

[Betty Rohrer]

because of breathing problems, i guess on my next flight i will have to put on ticket about alleregy to scentsto make sure no one uses near me. not talking about headache but serious breathing issues, ie needing oxygen. nonscented wipes okay. yes i will miss church this week because of flower scents. yes i know you want your child safe but you could be causing someone else a major problem. and yes it includes perfumes.

 

[kaligal]

Why would you defy a request like that? There are a million snacks that you could have that aren't peanut-based. Making a stand like "you can't make me not eat it" when the reason you're asked to do so is for the health and comfort of somebody on the plane seems a little... Selfish. Especially since the person who has the allergy could be seated adjacent to you and it could very well present a very real issue for them.

Just be considerate and plan ahead... Pack fruit, rice cakes, jelly and fluff sandwiches, popcorn...

They do it for the same reason that people use scented body wash, lotions and perfume. They live their lives however they see fit and expect those with medical conditions to take care of themselves.

Frankly, as the mom of a kid with a life-threatening nut allergy, I think anyone who has one and depends on strangers to keep them safe is a fool.

You cannot expect the whole world to change for you and your allergies.

 

[kaligal]

because of breathing problems, i guess on my next flight i will have to put on ticket about alleregy to scentsto make sure no one uses near me. not talking about headache but serious breathing issues, ie needing oxygen. nonscented wipes okay. yes i will miss church this week because of flower scents. yes i know you want your child safe but you could be causing someone else a major problem. and yes it includes perfumes.

My whole life, I met only one other person with this problem! We actually started a friendship discussing it.

Welcome to our tiny little club.

Are you waiting for Tide to make unscented Pods? I look every time I'm in the store.

 

[Pine View]

My whole life, I met only one other person with this problem! We actually started a friendship discussing it.

Welcome to our tiny little club.

Are you waiting for Tide to make unscented Pods? I look every time I'm in the store.

See post 70! There are three of us here now. Two of my DD and their children too. Unscented everything and double rinses at least.

 

[kaligal]

See post 70! There are three of us here now. Two of my DD and their children too. Unscented everything and double rinses at least.

OMG! I do the extra rinse, too!

Amazing. Never met anyone else who mentioned the extra rinse.

Very cool.

I didn't read the whole thread. I rarely do, lol.

 

[yankeepenny]

add me to the extra rinse cycle group.
been doing it for years.
that way, no problems.

 

[serenitygr]

Yup, we're in MN too! Up in Duluth.

Hey- that's COOL! We are only about 70 miles from you- have you been to Grand Rapids? We are only about 10 miles east of that just off HWY 2. What a small world!

 

[gk90]

Our allergist told us to use unscented detergent and do the extra rinse when DS was having problems with itching. We did it for several years and fortunately he seems to have outgrown this allergy.

 

[kaligal]

Our allergist told us to use unscented detergent and do the extra rinse when DS was having problems with itching. We did it for several years and fortunately he seems to have outgrown this allergy.

That is wonderful. He's so lucky. I'm always so happy for people whose allergies stop.

I wish I outgrew allergies.

Kids today are lucky. There are so many meds that help on the market. As a kid, when Spring rolled around, I had to take medicine that made me fall asleep in school. Then along came Seldane. Amen and Alleluia. Now, you can go into a drug store and get Zyrtec. Amazing.

I figured out the extra rinse on my own. I figure most of it out on my own.

I don't listen to the allergist all the time, so he tends to not bother giving me instructions too much. If I did, I couldn't eat almost anything, would be living in the southwest and washing myself with weird powders. The allergists get all wiggy about hives. I've had hives every day of life since I was about six. I can live with hives as long as I'm not sick.

My allergist calls me Pandora, in reference to the box and not Pandora herself...or so I like to think.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Good lord, why would an adult want to eat uncrustables? They taste awful and they're terrible for you.

http://www.rodale.com/worst-food

"Back in the day, homemade peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were considered a quick lunch fix, but Smucker's has managed to turn this old favorite into a packaged supermarket product. Uncrustables are premade PB&J sandwiches with the crusts already removed, and they're full of dangerous high-fructose corn syrup and heart-damaging hydrogenated oils. They are devoid of healthy fiber, which makes you want to eat more in the long run."

Wow. I never expected to be explaining why I make certain food choices... then again, this is the DIS...
Often when I travel, I'm up before 5 AM to work all day and heading directly to the airport to fly cross-country
Thawed Uncrustables fit neatly in certain otherwise-disposable office supply containers
Uncrustables are self-contained
And bless your heart for your concern about my diet; six or twelve Uncrustables a year aren't going to be what kills me

 

[melcia]

This is my first time posting here and I'm saddened at what I have to say.

My name is Mel and I have multiple food allergies. I'm 30 years old and wasn't diagnosed until my mid 20s, which means that throughout my life, I experienced a lot of food that I now can't have. One of those foods are peanuts.

When I was first diagnosed, I experienced EXTREME anxiety to the point where I barely left my house and was terrified of being exposed to peanuts in any way. My allergist told me about picking up oils etc from doorknobs and just how scary this world is for someone with allergies and I had a horrible time coming to terms with it.

Anxiety is not fun. And reading posts like this, where people are saying those with food allergies should just stay away and not go on planes or in public, well frankly hurts. It took me awhile to finally feel like living again and getting the courage to face being in situations that might cause me to be exposed. But I carry benadryl and my epi-pen and hope for the best.

Those of you who seem not to understand how serious food allergies are, if someone is severely allergic, if they are exposed to the allergen, within minutes their throat could close up, they could break out in painful hives, and the ability to breathe could be gone. Epi pens last 15 minutes, giving the victim a short window of time to get to an ER. It takes longer than 15 minutes to do an emergency landing on a plane. So think of that when you say that they should just carry their epi pen and shut up about their allergies.

Sometimes, in life, you have to not do something to help the people around you. Yes, I understand that peanut butter is a cheap, fun protein that kids like. However, for many people, children included, it's as deadly as suffocation and as risky to be around as an open bucket of acid.

I humbly, and respectfully urge you to be considerate of others and when you're in closed air situations (planes, subways etc) that you refrain from eating peanut products. Yes, it is an inconvenient, but you very well might save someone's life by limiting yourself for an hour or so.

Think of others and remember that when you're complaining about a minor inconvenience for an hour, that those of us with food allergies are inconvenienced for the rest of our lives.

Thank you.

 

[kaligal]

This is my first time posting here and I'm saddened at what I have to say.

My name is Mel and I have multiple food allergies. I'm 30 years old and wasn't diagnosed until my mid 20s, which means that throughout my life, I experienced a lot of food that I now can't have. One of those foods are peanuts.

When I was first diagnosed, I experienced EXTREME anxiety to the point where I barely left my house and was terrified of being exposed to peanuts in any way. My allergist told me about picking up oils etc from doorknobs and just how scary this world is for someone with allergies and I had a horrible time coming to terms with it.

Anxiety is not fun. And reading posts like this, where people are saying those with food allergies should just stay away and not go on planes or in public, well frankly hurts. It took me awhile to finally feel like living again and getting the courage to face being in situations that might cause me to be exposed. But I carry benadryl and my epi-pen and hope for the best.

Those of you who seem not to understand how serious food allergies are, if someone is severely allergic, if they are exposed to the allergen, within minutes their throat could close up, they could break out in painful hives, and the ability to breathe could be gone. Epi pens last 15 minutes, giving the victim a short window of time to get to an ER. It takes longer than 15 minutes to do an emergency landing on a plane. So think of that when you say that they should just carry their epi pen and shut up about their allergies.

Sometimes, in life, you have to not do something to help the people around you. Yes, I understand that peanut butter is a cheap, fun protein that kids like. However, for many people, children included, it's as deadly as suffocation and as risky to be around as an open bucket of acid.

I humbly, and respectfully urge you to be considerate of others and when you're in closed air situations (planes, subways etc) that you refrain from eating peanut products. Yes, it is an inconvenient, but you very well might save someone's life by limiting yourself for an hour or so.

Think of others and remember that when you're complaining about a minor inconvenience for an hour, that those of us with food allergies are inconvenienced for the rest of our lives.

Thank you.

As a person with my own allergies and the mom of a kid with a nut allergy, let me tell you...

You can hope that the world will change to accommodate your situation...and it sure would be nice...but don't bet your life on it, which is exactly what you're doing if you count on it.

Hope for the ideal...ask for the ideal, if you want...but PLAN for the fact that the world will keep on going like it always does.

 

[melcia]

As a person with my own allergies and the mom of a kid with a nut allergy, let me tell you...

You can hope that the world will change to accommodate your situation...and it sure would be nice...but don't bet your life on it, which is exactly what you're doing if you count on it.

Hope for the ideal...ask for the ideal, if you want...but PLAN for the fact that the world will keep on going like it always does.

Trust me I know. I can't eat at restaurants anymore. I don't eat anything that I don't prepare. I get that no one accommodates me. However there is nothing wrong with complying with a request if it creates a protective, safe environment for someone.

It's basic human decency. If someone around you says that they are severely allergic to whatever, then one ought to willingly comply.

It saddens me that on a message board for Disney we have such narrow minded and harsh people. Disney is actually an amazing place for people with allergies. That's why I'm planning a vacation there, to be honest.

 

[aubriee]

My kids, who are 4 and 7, can get by for a few hours without eating peanut butter. I don't understand why an adult couldn't in the event of an announcement that there was an allergy on a plane. I hope those of you who feel so put out never have a family member with a severe food allergy, or any disability for that matter. Talk about a lack of compassion and maturity.

My mom is 78 y/o, slighty senile, and a very brittle insulin dependent diabetic. She is very set in her ways and refuses to veer from what she was taught when she was first diagnosed as a diabetic over 25 years ago. She never goes anywhere without a peanut butter sandwich or those prepacked pkgs of cheese crackers and peanut butter. I have tried to teach her that there are better foods for her to carry, in case her blood sugar drops, but she insists that's what the instructer in her diabetic class told her to carry and it works, so why should she change. Again she is elderly, stubborn as an ox, and slightly senile, which make reasoning with her difficult. When she flies with me she will have peanut butter of some sort with her in case her blood sugar drops. There is no reasoning otherwise with her. Her blood sugar does have a tendency to drop frequently, even if she's eaten well and she has passed out numerous times. So if her sugar were to drop on a flight she would eat her peanut butter snack. In her mind she could not do without it, so if an announcement was made after we had boarded she'd be in trouble.

I don't have a problem refraining from eating peanut products on a flight. What I have a problem with, is parents not talking to the gate agents prior to boarding, to have them make an announcement, so that people who are planning on using a peanut product as a snack, has a chance to purchase something else prior to boarding. Instead they wait until they get on the plane and then have the FAs announce a peanut free flight. It's too late then for others to purchase something different. My mom may not be happy about it, but if she heard the announcement of a peanut free flight and we had time to grab her something else prior to boarding, she'd probably accept it. However, it we are at 20,000 feet and her sugar drops she's going to have to eat something and with flights now serving just pretzels she'd be in trouble. Juice would only hold her so long, before she's going to need a protein and a starch. All I ask is that parents of kids who need a peanut free flight, please have the gate agent announce that, prior to boarding so that others have a chance to purchase something (or in my case have time to not only purchase something else, but time to get the info through to a senile elderly woman who would absolutely panic at the thought of not being able to eat her peanut butter if she needed it).

 

[CamoMama]

All I ask is that parents of kids who need a peanut free flight, please have the gate agent announce that, prior to boarding so that others have a chance to purchase something (or in my case have time to not only purchase something else, but time to get the info through to a senile elderly woman who would absolutely panic at the thought of not being able to eat her peanut butter if she needed it).

Parents of children with allergies cannot be held responsible for when the airline chooses to make an announcement. It has been stated by parents here already that they make the airline aware of the allergy at booking and check in an hour early to ensure that there are non-peanut snacks available on the plane. The airline chooses when to make that announcement, if it's too late for you to make changes then perhaps you could bring that up to the airline.

Seriously, I find it ridiculous that any parent would place their own or their children's comfort over the life of another child. I am really shocked by the callousness shown by PPs here. My kids don't have any allergies and I have no idea how stressful that may be, to know that something most people take for granted could kill your child if they even just come into contact with it. If I were around anyone with a severe allergy I would have no problem modifying my routine for a short time to ensure that I am not accidentally the cause of someone else's death.