Nut allergy on planes...very nervous.

[hedgewick]

My 7 year old has severe nut allergies and we'll be flying on Saturday morning to Orlando on Southwest. I understand that we can tell the people when we check in and they will serve pretzels instead of nuts but I am still very nervous. I know people are allowed to bring food on planes. Airborne peanut dust can cause a reaction. Have any of you been on a flight with someone with this sort of allergy? Do they make any kind of announcement and request that food with nuts not be opened? Do passengers tend to get rude or frustrated about this? I am not the kind of person that looks for any kind of special treatment but if a reaction is bad enough that he will need an epi-pen injection the plane would have to land right away and we'd have to go to the emergency room. This is not a comfort issue but a serious health concern.

Any comments or suggestions? Should I worry about this? Am I being unreasonable to expect everyone on the plane to cater to one person's allergy? thanks!

 

[seashoreCM]

This is what I suggest.

Notify the airline now about the issue, giving all the medical details including your bringing along an Epi-Pen (yes, say that word) but not suggesting what they should do.

You can ask them what they might do but after that, do not make more suggestions of your own.

If you think you will need extra time getting settled, ask once to preboard at the gate. If you are denied, then quietly do what you planned to do after getting on board such as wipe down tray tables anyway without working up a sweat/temper over it and ignoring any adverse comments.

Disney hints: http://www.cockam.com/disney.htm

 

[goofy4tink]

I've been on several SW flights where the gate agents made a preboarding announcement that there was a severe nut allergy on our flight. That way, it gave people time to grab something different to eat just in case they had peanut butter sandwiches (that would be me!!). Then, once boarded the FAs made an announcement that they would not be serving any peanuts due to an allergy on board and to please refrain from taking any products containing nuts out while on board.
But I would let SW know before hand...then again when you get to the gate.

 

[NikP]

My 7 year old has severe nut allergies and we'll be flying on Saturday morning to Orlando on Southwest. I understand that we can tell the people when we check in and they will serve pretzels instead of nuts but I am still very nervous. I know people are allowed to bring food on planes. Airborne peanut dust can cause a reaction. Have any of you been on a flight with someone with this sort of allergy? Do they make any kind of announcement and request that food with nuts not be opened? Do passengers tend to get rude or frustrated about this? I am not the kind of person that looks for any kind of special treatment but if a reaction is bad enough that he will need an epi-pen injection the plane would have to land right away and we'd have to go to the emergency room. This is not a comfort issue but a serious health concern.

Any comments or suggestions? Should I worry about this? Am I being unreasonable to expect everyone on the plane to cater to one person's allergy? thanks!

My son also has a severe peanut allergy. He always wears his epi pen on a belt and he is 6 years old. Peanut dust is not an issue for him. We have flown Southwest and they recommend that you take the first flight out of the day. When I booked our tickets I put on the reservation a medical assistance notation. I also tell them when I check my luggage and at the gate. Sometime they will give us a blue sleeve for pre boarding, other times, we fend for ourselves. I always bring wipes too.

If your son's very sensitive to exposure, I would NOT fly with him. Even on the first flight out of the day we found peanuts laying on the floor from a flight on the previous day. We always wipe down his tray and all the seats, and then cover his seat with a blanket that we bring from home. Southwest will serve a snack other than nuts. First flight out is usually a cereal bar etc. We also give him Benadryl 20 minutes before flight and I have a minimum of 3 epi pens incase of a reaction. You need one epi pen for every 15 mins away from medical treatment. I figure at least I would have enough till we could make an emergency landing.

If you have any other questions you can pm me.

 

[uva185]

I don't know anyone who has severe allergies but I think you should take proactive measures yourself rather than depending on other people not to consume nuts.

You might want to buy a surgical mask, that would probably prevent most if not all airborne dust from getting into your child's lungs without inconveniencing 120 other people.

 

[hedgewick]

thanks everyone! I am planning on telling the desk when we arrive and giving benadryl before we board.

 

[TDC Nala]

I do suggest that you notify the airline as soon as possible with such a severe allergy.

Southwest does not thoroughly clean its planes between departures - their scheduling does not allow time for that. If you are not flying on the first flight of the day you may come in contact with peanuts spilled by prior passengers. There is a recommendation by a prior poster that you take the first flight.

On your flight, they will not serve peanuts and will probably make an announcement asking other passengers to not open peanut products - but you're then dependent on those passengers to do as asked. No one is going to monitor the passengers to make sure they comply, so you need to take all necessary precautions.

 

[NotUrsula]

I would suggest that you also call Customer Service about a week before your departure to give them advance notice; that helps them with knowing how much to provision for the flight.

If you let them know as far ahead of time as possible, and keep politely reminding them at each stage of your travel, SWA will do everything possible to minimize your child's exposure. While they will make an announcement before boarding and again after boarding, they cannot FORCE any passenger to refrain from opening any peanut products that they may have carried onboard. Be aware of that, and take any proactive measures regarding your son's person and personal space that you can.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

Here is some helpful information from the SW website:
http://www.southwest.com/travel_center/disability.html#peanut

Best of luck -- Suzanne

 

[HappyDznyCamper]

thanks everyone! I am planning on telling the desk when we arrive and giving benadryl before we board.

It sounds like you need to tell them NOW, as well as 1 hour before flight time from reading others posts as well as the link provided.

 

[JoyG]

I've flown SW with two peanut allergic kids.

I always ask to preboard, and so far that's never been a problem for us. We take the first seats in the plane so it minimizes the number of people around us.

Also, they usually make an announcement asking passengers to refrain from eating nuts. They don't serve nuts on the flights we take. I also give my kids a dose of Benedryl right before we leave just in case and wipe down our seats. Haven't had a problem yet.

 

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

Many airlines no longer serve peanuts......but Southwest is NOT one of them. They do serve them. If this is an issue for you and your family, you should only fly airlines that don't serve peanuts.

BobK/Orlando

 

[JLKennedy]

Is the allergy exclusively to PEANUT's or all nuts?

It's very hard, for us without the allergies, to find any food that doesn't contain nuts, wasn't produced in a plant that produces other foods with nuts.....

I would not fly if my child was so allergic that he might go into anaphylactic shock, nor would I personally think the 1st flight would be any safer than any other, my kid's breakfast staple is a bagel with peanut butter on it.

I just wouldn't feel safe counting on the rest of the passengers to not eat so my kid doesn't get ill. JMHO though.

 

[dioxide45]

On your flight, they will not serve peanuts and will probably make an announcement asking other passengers to not open peanut products - but you're then dependent on those passengers to do as asked. No one is going to monitor the passengers to make sure they comply, so you need to take all necessary precautions.

Your also dependant on those passengers actually paying attention and hearing what is spoken. What is spoken is usually also muffled. It amazes me how many people leave electronic devices at take off and landing because they either don't hear or choose to ignore the spoken instruction. Also how do people listening to their iPod hear those instructions/warnings?

In my observance only about half of the people are paying any attention to the flight attendants insturctions.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Is the allergy exclusively to PEANUT's or all nuts?

It's very hard, for us without the allergies, to find any food that doesn't contain nuts, wasn't produced in a plant that produces other foods with nuts.....

Ya think? Check this list of ingredients on my jar of Peter Pan:
Roasted peanuts,
sugar, hydrogenated vegetable oils
(cottonseed and rapeseed),salt,
partially hydrogenated cottonseed
oil. CONTAINS PEANUTS (their emphasis, not mine).

 

[ljcrochet]

Good luck. I know my sister just flew on southwest and when they boarded the plane they were told there was some one with peanut allergy on board and that peanuts would not be served and not to eat peanut products. She had wished they were told while they were waiting so she could have bought a different snack for the plane ride.

 

[Mickey_Dust]

WE are flying Southwest in Sept. and my son has a severe peanut and treenut allergy. We are unable to fly out first thing in the morning but I will take all the necessary precautions I can other than the first flight. I never thought about the antihistamine before the flight (Thanks for the heads up.) I also knew about carrying 2 epi pens but wasn't aware that I may need more than that... I will make sure I take a backup. (Thanks again.)

I speak for myself when I say this, but its the people who feel PUT OUT by the fact that they are asked to refrain from eating or opening a peanut product that scare me. I have witnessed my son pick up a peanut butter sandwich and not even put it close to his mouth (this happened prior to him being diagnosed with an allergy) and immediately break out in hives, swell up and get all itchy on his face. I don't think it is asking too much for some compasion from other people when it comes to the health of a person with an allergy especially one that is severe enough to warrant an overhead announcement to refrain from use. I mean what is worse? Being asked to not open or eat a peanut or nut product or having to make an emergency landing because you did and now the person sitting next to you cant breathe??


Best of luck on your trip. I hope you have an uneventful flight.

 

[goofy4tink]

WE are flying Southwest in Sept. and my son has a severe peanut and treenut allergy. We are unable to fly out first thing in the morning but I will take all the necessary precautions I can other than the first flight. I never thought about the antihistamine before the flight (Thanks for the heads up.) I also knew about carrying 2 epi pens but wasn't aware that I may need more than that... I will make sure I take a backup. (Thanks again.)

I speak for myself when I say this, but its the people who feel PUT OUT by the fact that they are asked to refrain from eating or opening a peanut product that scare me. I have witnessed my son pick up a peanut butter sandwich and not even put it close to his mouth (this happened prior to him being diagnosed with an allergy) and immediately break out in hives, swell up and get all itchy on his face. I don't think it is asking too much for some compasion from other people when it comes to the health of a person with an allergy especially one that is severe enough to warrant an overhead announcement to refrain from use. I mean what is worse? Being asked to not open or eat a peanut or nut product or having to make an emergency landing because you did and now the person sitting next to you cant breathe??


Best of luck on your trip. I hope you have an uneventful flight.

I don't think anyone intentionally would put another person, especially a child. at risk. But....perhaps others weren't told that there was a nut allergy on board, and they had no other food option, other than the teeny snack the airlines hand out.
It's sometimes hard to take someone on a flight that has a severe allergy...if it were me, I would be very hesitant if I had a child that had an extremely severe allergy. I just wouldn't want to put the welfare of my child in a strangers' hands. Not saying that anyone would intentionally do something that would negatively impact another person but situations happen. Just not a chance I would be willing to take.
I will say that it was pretty hard for us to fly when no peanut products were allowed on the flight. It was at a time that my dd, then 6, was living on peanut butter. We had peanut butter sandwiches and crackers with us, so she could eat on the plane. But she had to go without the entire flight. And of course, that was the flight that was late in taking off...we sat there for 40 mins, waiting to be deiced, then the 3 hr flight. Because we had had to get up at 4am, off to the airport at 4:45, at the airport at 5:30, for our 7:30 flight, it was a long haul with no food for dd. We had no idea that she wouldn't be allowed to eat her peanut butter so hadn't been concerned about not getting anything at the airport. So that child went without food from 4:30am until 11am....a long time for a little girl, especially after eating a very small bowl of Corn Pops for breakfast at 4:20.
But, we wouldn't have wanted to impact another child. So she went hungry. Surely there is something those with severe nut issues can do in order to lessen the danger. Would wearing a mask and gloves help any?

 

[KJ Luvs Pluto]

You mentioned giving him Benadryl but having to make an emergency landing in order to get an epi-pen injection. Are you not planning on having any epi-pens with you? Or am I misunderstanding this? If the allergy is this severe any and all proactive steps should/must be taken by you. Having several epi-pens (as a PP mentioned) on your person (not stashed above in the carryon luggage) would be important. I agree that having your child wear a mask would be a good precaution as well if you insist on flying. With this serious of an allergy in a situation where you cannot control what so many other people do in such tight quarters, keeping the allergens out of his airway through a very good mask might really help.

 

[seashoreCM]

Any known instance where a plane had to make an emergency landing because a passenger became ill and the illness was brought about by another passenger's action such as opening and eating peanut products and that other passenger was assessed the costs of the landing because he disobeyed flight attendant orders in bringing about the illness?

OT: At various times I have suggested that if your last activity before going home is a meal, it is better to plan on doing that at the airport rather than at Disney. I should add that when (in the vast majority of cases) time permits before your flight, that you should actually eat while waiting for your flight given the possibility you might have nothing to eat on board other than PBJ sandwiches and at the last minute be forbidden to eat them on board.