Profile: megmwhit
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howie — My son has a severe peanut allergy diagnosed by respected allergy doctors so it is not paranoia. The part about food allergies (anaphylaxis in particular) is that each reaction can be different. One exposure can simply lead to hives or vomiting, while another exposure can trigger full anaphylactic shock which may be fatal, if untreated. Some people my only react when the item is ingested or some when comes into contact with the skin. This issue is not a joke or to be taken lightly. Consider this. The epi-pen emergency medication is effective for 15-20 minutes per dose before the patient needs to get to the hospital. If you were on the plane with my son and he has an allergic reaction on a flight from the East Coast to the West Coast, he would need to take several epi-pens… more »
I wish no one would have to deal with this issue. I don’t relish the fact that we would inconvenience other travelers, but I think that if it was your child you may think differently. We deal with this on a daily basis and have only travelled by plane one time. We contacted the airline in advance, found the first flight of the day to ensure the plane was as clean as possible, took several epi-pens, covered the seats with towels and worried the whole time and that was only 1.5 hours.
My vote would be to ban peanuts and peanut products only on a flight where a passenger with a peanut allergy requests a peanut-free flight in advance. « less
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I long for the day when I can book a flight for my family. But at the moment, that seems practically impossible as my 4 year old son has a severe peanut allergy. He has reacted in an enclosed room before. Thankfully, we were on land, not thousands of feet up in the air, making treatment much more feasible. I am terrified of being on a plane and him coming into contact with peanuts in any way shape or form. I have contacted airlines to see if a request could be made to keep a flight peanut free, but was advised not to fly with them instead or to simply stand up on the flight and beg everyone not to eat peanuts during the flight. I have chosen not to fly. We live 13 hours from our family. It is a drive-able distance, but I would love to be able to spend more time with my family than… more »
I know a day will come when we need to get somewhere in a limited amount of time. At this point, I would have to find childcare for my son as he could not come with us, or not attend at all.
My son did not choose this allergy. There is nothing he can do to make it go away. He is dependent upon other people to keep him healthy by preventing him from ingesting or inhaling any peanut product. In this way it is a disability.
I remain hopeful the the DOT will ban all peanut products on flights and inform all passengers on a flight when a person with such an allergy is on board. « less
It would be prudent for a study to be done on this issue to fully understand it. Right now parents, myself included, chose not to fly for fear of their child having a severe reaction in a highly inconvenient place. Personally, I can’t tell you that my son would die on a plane, but I can’t promise you that he wouldn’t have an anaphylactic reaction that could be very life threatening. A study would answer the questions as to how often it is an issue, how many people have this issue, and how they chose to fly because of it. There are currently too many unknowns.
In public and private schools, peanuts are frequently banned because it is viewed as a disability and would prevent these children from attending school. That fact alone seems to show that it makes sense to consider a ban in other arenas as well.