Waiting to board our plane and....

[3Gsandme]

If me or my child had such a severe allergy that someone 15 rows back eating a granola bar would endanger my life, I would not be getting on a plane. I agree that I would not place my trust with strangers to keep us safe.

But there's the rub. You don't have to deal with a life threatening allergy so it's easy to say, in theroy with nothing at stake, that you just wouldn't fly.

My eldest dd has a class six peanut allergy. Her first reaction was at 18 months old. The very first time she ever ate anything with peanuts in it her eyes swelled shut. She's now fifteen and a half and through careful diligence and HELP FROM OTHERS, she made it all the way to and through desensitization without ever even needing an epipen. People who have never dealt with a serious food allergy always make the super helpful suggestion to "stay home". Thanks. That's useful.

Seriously, our job as parents of kids with allergies is to help them learn how to manage it and keeping them at home to avoid a reaction just isn't living. I don't want to ask you for help. Trust me. I know how some people feel about accommodating people with serious food allergies. My favorite were the people who referred to kids with peanut allergies as "peanutards" and figured that it would just be natural selection if a reaction killed them. Do you think I want to ask people for help knowing othrts feel that way? I do not. But, I have to. We worked hard to minimize impact on others with dd's allergies.

 

[kamik86]

Here is another question... Did everyone on the plane even get the notice? I have definitely not walked up to the gate until they were already starting to line everyone up to board. So you could easily have several people that didn't even hear the notice.

And more that didn't actually listen to it even when in the boarding area.

 

[gwynne]

This is the part of the whole argument that confuses me. If the allergy is SO severe that the risk of everyone on the plane (just not those sitting in the near vicinity) can cause a deadly reaction, I would not get on the plane with my child. How about in the airport when someone pulls out peanut butter crackers in the waiting area? Or a Snickers bar? Or the person in line in security with peanut butter breath? You cannot protect against all situations and those would seem to be just as dangerous too.

I agree. I'm pretty easy going, overall, but I don't get the "we have to fly" thing. I would never trust 100+ strangers to all care and be respectful of one person's potentially life-threatening allergy request. Is it right that it is this way? Of course not.

And the cleaning bit? I don't really think there is any scientific evidence that a quick swipe with clorox wipes of seats and trays will get every bit of peanut residue that is lingering in a plane. I would drive. But that's me.

 

[3Gsandme]

Why do you make this assumption about other people? I knew a mom who had a son with severe allergies and instead of relying on the general public to bow and bend to her and her child's needs she homeschooled. She didn't use the public library because the risk of contamination on books; she made accommodations for her son; she didn't expect everyone else to do it for her.

It's called personal responsibility.

So, you're cool with that growing up and claiming disability and never working ever? That would personally responsible in this situation, right?

For what it's worth, food allergies are classified as an actual disability and must be accommodated.

 

[fly girl]

When did the person on the plane with the peanut allergy turn into a child who would go into respiratory distress?

Anyways - I would comply, obviously. But I would think the person is an idiot for taking that chance.

Typically, severe peanut allergies are with kids. The reactions can be so severe they can go into anaphylactic shock. It's really uncommon but the airlines are just being cautious to prevent it.

 

[TifffanyD]

Typically, severe peanut allergies are with kids. The reactions can be so severe they can go into anaphylactic shock.

Well the OP didn't say it was a kid so I think it's reaching for everyone to automatically go there with it.

 

[3Gsandme]

When did the person on the plane with the peanut allergy turn into a child who would go into respiratory distress?

Anyways - I would comply, obviously. But I would think the person is an idiot for taking that chance.

Do you know what anaphylaxis is?

 

[sersee05]

For me, if my child was so allergic to peanuts that they have to make an announcement on the plane, I wouldn't be on a plane. I would not want to put my child's life in the hands of strangers. As a passenger, I would be fine eating my m and Ms when the plane landed.

I'm allergic to bees and wasps. If I don't have my epipen , I will die. I have to avoid situations that put my health at risk. I couldn't imagine walking into a closed room with a bee in it. I wouldn't do it.

It's been along time since I have been on a plane...they allow cats in the cabin?!

 

[aejammers]

But there's the rub. You don't have to deal with a life threatening allergy so it's easy to say, in theroy with nothing at stake, that you just wouldn't fly.

My eldest dd has a class six peanut allergy. Her first reaction was at 18 months old. The very first time she ever ate anything with peanuts in it her eyes swelled shut. She's now fifteen and a half and through careful diligence and HELP FROM OTHERS, she made it all the way to and through desensitization without ever even needing an epipen. People who have never dealt with a serious food allergy always make the super helpful suggestion to "stay home". Thanks. That's useful.

Seriously, our job as parents of kids with allergies is to help them learn how to manage it and keeping them at home to avoid a reaction just isn't living. I don't want to ask you for help. Trust me. I know how some people feel about accommodating people with serious food allergies. My favorite were the people who referred to kids with peanut allergies as "peanutards" and figured that it would just be natural selection if a reaction killed them. Do you think I want to ask people for help knowing othrts feel that way? I do not. But, I have to. We worked hard to minimize impact on others with dd's allergies.

I didn't say the person had to stay home. I said that I personally wouldn't fly. Big difference. Is a vacation that isn't accessible by car worth you or your child's life? Is your child's life worth the compliance of 100+ strangers? Not to me. And you have no idea what I deal with in life. So don't go there.

 

[Chocolate Cake]

You can say all the "what ifs?" that other people may do, but to me, that is not an excuse to just go ahead and do what you want and put a child at risk. If "I" was told that there was a child with a life threatening allergy on the plane, I can only monitor my own behavior and I sure as hell am not going to purposely try and kill a child by eating peanuts when asked not to.

Me neither. Peanuts just aren’t that important to me. I would choose the human. But, not everyone would and I would not want to rely on other people to keep my child alive.

And, to be honest, what if there is a language barrier and someone that doesn’t speak English or Spanish doesn’t even understand what the announcement is saying? Never would I risk my child’s life (or my own if I had an allergy) while depending on others to understand the directions.

And as for driving, there just are places you cannot drive all the time. With vacation schedules, it just is not feasible to drive to WDW for a vacation from the West.

Then maybe you just don’t go to places that aren’t feasible to drive. Honestly, if it is a matter of life and death, WDW or other far off destinations would have to be scratched off the list of vacation spots. But, even if you got to WDW in a peanut free plane, what do you do once you get there and the person eating at the table before you inadvertently smeared peanut butter on it?

 

[morgan98]

There is not recirculated air in those areas.

I get that. But I would think that someone eating a Snickers or some peanut M&M's in the waiting area one seat away in the waiting area is just as dangerous.

If a peanut particle in row 40 gets sucked into the ventilation system and sends someone in row 13 into a severe allergic reaction, I still contend that the condition is so severe I would never risk flying.

 

[TifffanyD]

Do you know what anaphylaxis is?

While I know you are only being patronizing, I will reply anyways. Yes, I do.

However, the OP only said "The airline just announced that a passenger has a severe peanut allergy and asked that people not eat anything with nuts while on the plane."

No description of the passenger or their type of allergy.

 

[Chocolate Cake]

I always ask this and never get an answer. If someone is truly that allergic--that having a peanut somewhere at the other end of the plane is going to cause that person to react and die--how do you function in everyday life???? You can't go into the supermarket and request that all peanut products be put away. You can't go to the library and be guaranteed that the person before you didn't have a PBJ before coming and touched the door handle. You can request that everyone in the movie theater put away their Goobers and peanut M&Ms. You can't go anywhere where there's other people--church, school, shopping, hospital, library, post office, etc., etc.--and be absolutely sure that everyone within 100 feet is absolutely peanut free. So how do these people survive???

Can anyone answer this?

 

[fly girl]

Basically, it all boils down to this IMHO.

Nothing is 100% safe. Just like with anywhere, it could be on the floor, armrest, etc. That already puts some risk, but why add to the risk by eating peanuts? That's why the airline pulls the peanut products and asks you to not eat them. It adds to the potential of having a reaction. Sure, I agree it is an inconvienence. You're asking hundreds of other people to accommodate one. But like I said before, in the scheme of life it's one flight. You're in a metal tube flying at 500mph at 30,000ft with nowhere to go - why add to the risk of someone getting ill if you can do your part? We are all in this together. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Goofy_Disney_Dad]

This is like deja vu. I'm almost positive I've read some of this before.

 

[Dawnlight]

So, you're cool with that growing up and claiming disability and never working ever? That would personally responsible in this situation, right?

For what it's worth, food allergies are classified as an actual disability and must be accommodated.

You've got a knack for putting words into people's mouths that were never said.

For what it's worth, many food allergies are misdiagnosed and their degree of severity inflated.

 

[kamik86]

An airplane isn't the only place with a ventilation system like that. I work in an office building where the vast majority of offices and spaces don't have windows. Everything is circulated in the HVAC system.

 

[3Gsandme]

I always ask this and never get an answer. If someone is truly that allergic--that having a peanut somewhere at the other end of the plane is going to cause that person to react and die--how do you function in everyday life???? You can't go into the supermarket and request that all peanut products be put away. You can't go to the library and be guaranteed that the person before you didn't have a PBJ before coming and touched the door handle. You can request that everyone in the movie theater put away their Goobers and peanut M&Ms. You can't go anywhere where there's other people--church, school, shopping, hospital, library, post office, etc., etc.--and be absolutely sure that everyone within 100 feet is absolutely peanut free. So how do these people survive???

And the PP who mentioned that people with allergies hate asking for these accommodations... Maybe some of them do. But I see many, many more that actually seem to want the entire world to bend to their needs. It seems to be much more about the, "all about me" attitude than the trying to adjust to the world as it is.

Apparently you never asked me because I always answer but I think doesn't for into the "me me me" narrative that people ascribe to the parents of allergic kids.

Just like you, our life is full of calculated risk and teaching our kid how to be safe and how to manage her medical condition on her own. We sat with her in an allergists office with peanut butter smeared on her arm to find out what would happen to her if she touched peanut butter. We provided snacks at school parties and soccer games so we took on the burden of finding a peanut free snack and not the other parents. We provided cleaning wipes, epipen trainers and access to her allergists so her school could provide her with the least restrictive environment, to which she, and every child, is entitled.

We taught her to wash her hands. We taught her to NEVER accept unlabeled food. We taught her to read labels. We taught her to ask questions about her food. We taught her which candy is safe and which is not. We taught her to wash her hands some more. We taught her not to touch her mucus membranes without washing her hands. We taught her to only eat the food WE brought to potlucks. We called ahead to restaurants to find out if she could eat there and we left of we discovered it wasn't. Dh worked for an airline and DD has flown a dozen times without incident. We took personal responsibility as far as we could. But, we still needed to ask for help.

Eventually, we decided to spend a lot time and a lot of money to have her desensitized. She took on great personal risk for her own freedom. At 13. She's a rock star. Now, we don't have to rely on people who don't think she's worth the effort. We just have to rely on her and, I'd totalky bet on her any day because we taught her from day 1 to be careful and diligent.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

*Disclaimer* I would not eat peanut products if I was asked not to.

Personally I think it is a bit much to ask a plane full of people to comply with your request. I think the person with the allergy needs to figure out how to handle it them self without expecting others to handle it. What do these deathly allergic people do in public? I've read so many "severe" allergies on this board yet there are 9 million Disney trips in their signature. Disney would be the last place I would feel safe if I had deathly allergies! Thousands of people touch every single little thing there. Unless you are hermetically sealed there is no way that you will not be exposed. I feel for anyone who is affected by something like that. We as a family will always comply but I think you have to prepare for the path as the path will not prepare for you.

 

[cabanafrau]

Just discussed this the other night over coffee with friends. A friend said the attendants had come around on a recent flight collecting back all of the peanuts they'd just passed out because someone was allergic.

IMO if you or your child has a severe allergy it is your burden to do due diligence to give as much advance notice to the airline as possible so that they can in turn provide as much notice as possible to your fellow passengers. It isn't acceptable to mosey up at the last moment and expect your allergy to trump everyone else's planning for their wants and needs. Sure, one passenger's M&M snack might not be a huge sacrifice in the scheme of things, but it's not cool for those who've planned out their needs, especially those related to health issues, but budgetary or other planning needs of other passengers shouldn't be dismissed as inconsequential either. People have needs to take meds on a schedule, sometimes with foods, or sometimes purely need to eat a certain category of foods on a schedule in order to keep things like headaches or stomach issues at bay.

Now, will sudden airline scheduling issues mess up even the best laid plans? Sure. But in that instance everyone has to be a little flexible and try to give cooperation the best they can.