Profile: facts mom
This is facts mom's Profile page. Use it to view facts mom's comments, other users' replies to these comments, and comments facts mom has endorsed.
What's Happening Now
June 5, 2010 11:20 pm
Well said. I fly extensively in the US and internationally. And, in reading all the comments posted thus far, for the most part, there appears to be a lot of emotion and not a lot of facts surrounding this issue.
The airlines should not be banning any food and they certainly should not be come the food police.
I strongly urge the DOT to get more scientic-based information. Any disability needs to be treated with sensitivity. However, i want to point out that when we installed ramps for those in a wheel chairs, we did not remove the stairs.
Some facts to consider. studies show that you cannot have a serious/deadly reaction to peanut, tree nut, or other food allergy protein by smelling it; despite what some of the contributors here have said. Less than 1% of the population… more »
…has a peanut allergy and not all of those are “severly” allergic. (Compare that with the exponentially higher incidence of diabetes–diabetics need plant based proteins like peanuts during flights to keep their blood sugar levels under control.) or, a milk allergy which is far more prevelent.
Airborne exposure will not affect the body systemically, so therefore cannot cause anaphylaxis. If extremely allergic, you may have some symptoms like sneezing, running nose and coughing. For those peanut or tree nut allergic, and for all food allergies, you MUST ingest the food protein to have a systemtic reaction. And, even with direct skin contact to tree nuts, peanuts or peanut and nut butters, most allergic people will not show signs of a reaction, or it so it will be a localized minor one such as hives, or a welt.
You can, however, have a psyhcosomatic reaction to anything you are afraid of. Peanut allergy has become an exaggerated fear to the detriment of those who suffer from other food allergies and other serious and chronic diseases.
A few Facts: more than 3,000 kids die from asthma each year; 10,000 kids go to the hospital each year with brain injuries due to sports; 45,000 kids die in car accidents. Last time i saw a statisic on food allergy fatalities it was aobut 100 to 150 over a five year period for all foods. This is not to say that peanut and tree nut allergies, or any allergy is not serious. They are.
But I wonder if these same parents who are demandting that peanuts and tree nuts be banned from everywhere are asking for sports be eliminated from school programs, or if their children are being kept out of sports. or, have they given up driving their children in a car; or, will they get their son or daughter a drivers license at age 16.
i have a friend whose child almost died twice from a serious allergy to milk because people think milk allergy can’t be fatal; they confuse milk allergy with lactose intolerance because the hysteria created by some about peanut has drowned out any sense of reason and overshadowed everyone else’s issues. A recent widely publicized study showed that far more people think they have food allergies than actually do. Again, i am not minimizing those who do, but a food allergy needs to be diagnosed by a certified immunologist who conducts a food challenge. Then and only then does a patient really know what they are allergic to. and, a food allergy is very different than a food sensitivity. Many people have multiple food allergies, but once properly diagnosed that person needs to be taught to care for themselves and take all necessary precautions.
Also, I read in the news is that patients with egg and food allergy have now been de-sensitized in clinical settings with guess what? egg and peanut! so, let’s rid ourselves of the hysteria. let’s stop our demanding and outrageousness and let’s call for ome common sense. i fear for these children that are being raised by parents to live in fear of the “bogey man”. instead of teaching them to handle whatever afflication they have in a responsible and calm manner–whether it’s severe asthma, other food allergies, diabetes, cystic fibrosis, and the hundreds of other afflications that so many of us live with everyday.
I myself have a food allergy so i truly understand what it takes to be vigliant; it isn’t easy.
in all my years of flying and with all the different carriers i have been on, i find that whether in the US or abroad, without legislation, they try to be as accommodating as possible when people plan ahead and are not behaving rudely.
we have more than enough regulation and every time a new regulation comes along it always carries unintended consequences. so, once you ban peanuts and tree nuts, will you prohibit seeing eye dogs on flights for those of us who are severly allergic? Remember, you can die from an asthma attack caused by a reaction to an animal. or, will you have a voice of reason and talk with the carrier, check on your medications, where a highly refined mask and take the right precautions.
My own near fatal experience to a different allergy reinforced for me that if you demand the world conform to you, you will become lax making it more likely you will have an accidenta encounter. we need to be prepared and proactive, not create a bubble around ourselves and our children.
« less
Airborne exposure will not affect the body systemically, so therefore cannot cause anaphylaxis. If extremely allergic, you may have some symptoms like sneezing, running nose and coughing. For those peanut or tree nut allergic, and for all food allergies, you MUST ingest the food protein to have a systemtic reaction. And, even with direct skin contact to tree nuts, peanuts or peanut and nut butters, most allergic people will not show signs of a reaction, or it so it will be a localized minor one such as hives, or a welt.
You can, however, have a psyhcosomatic reaction to anything you are afraid of. Peanut allergy has become an exaggerated fear to the detriment of those who suffer from other food allergies and other serious and chronic diseases.
A few Facts: more than 3,000 kids die from asthma each year; 10,000 kids go to the hospital each year with brain injuries due to sports; 45,000 kids die in car accidents. Last time i saw a statisic on food allergy fatalities it was aobut 100 to 150 over a five year period for all foods. This is not to say that peanut and tree nut allergies, or any allergy is not serious. They are.
But I wonder if these same parents who are demandting that peanuts and tree nuts be banned from everywhere are asking for sports be eliminated from school programs, or if their children are being kept out of sports. or, have they given up driving their children in a car; or, will they get their son or daughter a drivers license at age 16.
i have a friend whose child almost died twice from a serious allergy to milk because people think milk allergy can’t be fatal; they confuse milk allergy with lactose intolerance because the hysteria created by some about peanut has drowned out any sense of reason and overshadowed everyone else’s issues. A recent widely publicized study showed that far more people think they have food allergies than actually do. Again, i am not minimizing those who do, but a food allergy needs to be diagnosed by a certified immunologist who conducts a food challenge. Then and only then does a patient really know what they are allergic to. and, a food allergy is very different than a food sensitivity. Many people have multiple food allergies, but once properly diagnosed that person needs to be taught to care for themselves and take all necessary precautions.
Also, I read in the news is that patients with egg and food allergy have now been de-sensitized in clinical settings with guess what? egg and peanut! so, let’s rid ourselves of the hysteria. let’s stop our demanding and outrageousness and let’s call for ome common sense. i fear for these children that are being raised by parents to live in fear of the “bogey man”. instead of teaching them to handle whatever afflication they have in a responsible and calm manner–whether it’s severe asthma, other food allergies, diabetes, cystic fibrosis, and the hundreds of other afflications that so many of us live with everyday.
I myself have a food allergy so i truly understand what it takes to be vigliant; it isn’t easy.
in all my years of flying and with all the different carriers i have been on, i find that whether in the US or abroad, without legislation, they try to be as accommodating as possible when people plan ahead and are not behaving rudely.
we have more than enough regulation and every time a new regulation comes along it always carries unintended consequences. so, once you ban peanuts and tree nuts, will you prohibit seeing eye dogs on flights for those of us who are severly allergic? Remember, you can die from an asthma attack caused by a reaction to an animal. or, will you have a voice of reason and talk with the carrier, check on your medications, where a highly refined mask and take the right precautions.
My own near fatal experience to a different allergy reinforced for me that if you demand the world conform to you, you will become lax making it more likely you will have an accidenta encounter. we need to be prepared and proactive, not create a bubble around ourselves and our children.
« less
No comments
I would like to thank the DOT for soliciting input – I think opening the floor for public comment is helpful on so many levels. Those of us dealing with food allergy issues on a day-to-day basis feel that the opportunity to have our voices heard is exactly what we would wish for. Those in the public who do not or have not lived with this issue can see a variety of viewpoints and develop an informed opinion. I believe that our cultural expectations need to be re-assesed when considering food allergy issues. 1.) Food is sustenance 2.)We associate events/environments with food (why peanuts when we fly?) 3.)We hold onto traditions rather strongly until forced to evaluate the extent to which they are truly meaningful and necessary.(If I eat this food, I may seriously jeopardize someone’s… more »
I believe that good faith is being shown in evaluating the peanut allergy issue, but as so many before me have clearly illustrated, not just peanuts cause life-threatening reactions. I strongly encourage you to contact and work in tandem with the Food Allergy and Anaphlyaxis Network, http://www.foodallergy.org. They have worked tirelessly to serve as a clearinghouse of information on these very issues.
I believe that people generally care about the well-being of others, and when informed, make informed choices. « less