This is one of my own personal fears when flying with my children: experiencing an allergic reaction thousands of feet in the sky! This story was circulating anaphylaxislast night and it really brings home the reality regarding flying with life threatening food allergies and United Airlines . Thankfully, this story ended well. What is very disturbing is the amount of stories we are hearing these days. I realize that the internet helps us share data better and faster, but it feels like there are more and more incidents occurring. What is interesting about this story is the woman plans on suing the United Airlines and I am very curious to learn the outcome.
Although, it appears to me that Alisa wants to sue United Airlines over the fact that they would not make an allergen request and yet their nut allergy policy on their website does not mention announcements. The conversation that comes to mind is two-fold: one, was Alisa carrying epinephrine? The above story does not specify exactly what medications did she have available other than her asthma inhaler. Second, why would the flight attendants not want to make an announcement regarding the allergy? What harm could be done by warning passengers? What really gets under my skin is that the passenger who caused the reaction would not have eaten the peanuts if she had known. No environment is ever 100% safe and guarantees can not be made, but taking steps to reduce risk is truly the answer to supporting people with life threatening food allergies and anaphylaxis.
photo courtesy of James Barker via Freedigitialphotos.net
One of the hardest things I find about managing both life threatening food allergies and asthma is talking to others. I hate to be the one that might be perceived as demanding, pushing or for asking too much. What I now know, fourteen years later, is that honest, clear information presented with kindness works!..
I am very curious to see if she had anything other than an inhaler. To be honest, this whole thing kind of steams me up, not on the part of the flight attendants, but more on the part of Alisa. She has full knowledge of the depth of her allergy, and if she did not bring epinephrine, then that is unbelievably irresponsible of her. In a situation where she is voluntarily traveling in a form of public transportation, she can not blame other people for not taking care of her. It is NOT their responsibility. She has to take care of herself, and make SURE she has what she needs. Especially if she knows her allergy is airborne.
Don’t get me wrong, it sounds like she did her own due diligence and communicated her situation with the airline. But if their protocol does not include an announcement (I have never heard one while traveling) she can not expect them to give her special treatment. That may sound harsh, but this is coming from a mother of a child with life threatening allergies, who is working on restaurant legislation in her state, and what I have learned is that we have to be our own advocates. If the allergies are life and death, we simply can’t rely on strangers to take up the slack. We can certainly educate people, which will hopefully keep the mistakes to a minimum, because human error is human. But, on the flip side, in this day and age, I still don’t know what the deal is with airplanes and peanuts. I have no idea why they don’t serve something else. It really makes no sense to me.
And, also because I am working on legislation, this is exactly what would set us back. In our food allergic world, any press is NOT good press. This kind of situation only reinforces the skeptics’ beliefs that we are out to sue if things don’t go our way.
Marla,
Thank you for bringing up a good conversation. When ever there is an incident there are so many opportunities to learn and layers of understanding. When we walk of the door of our house, we are equipped with two Epi Pens, asthma inhalers, emergency action plans and we’ve done our homework regarding the environment we will be in that day to the best of our ability. We can’t rely on others to make it work. There aren’t enough pieces of this story available at this point to understand if she had life saving epinephrine on her. If I hear of anything else, I’ll post it. I am very curious regarding the not willing to make the statement issue. If this is the airline’s policy,then I believe they need to print this and educate their staff. I personally, would like to see all employers, when they require staff to take first aid or CPR classes to incorporate managing customers with life threatening allergies and anaphylaxis so that they can provide valuable information for the allergic person to make good decisions.
Being in the home stretch of our own epinephrine in school legislation here in Nevada, I can’t agree with you enough! One story, only slightly off can knock things in the wrong direction. I would love to hear more about what you are doing. Can you email me? Caroline@gratefulfoodie.com.
Thanks again for bringing up more conversation! Through conversation, we educate ourselves and others.
Could wearing a mask help in this situation? I haven’t even entertained the idea of lying because my child is so allergic. I carry 4 epi pens at all times. Two for me and two for him. I would like to know more on this story if she was prepared. I am upset with the airline for not making an announcement. I definitely don’t like the statement they put out either 🙁 I wonder what the ADA thinks about airlines not accomadating those with severe food allergies since it is a disability.
Elijah’s Hope, I wonder too if a mask would help. Good question for our physicians, I believe in the end, airlines will be forced to view flying from the same eyes that businesses use to accommodate wheel chairs.
We carry extra epinephrine too on the airplanes with the thought of using multiples if needed. But we only fly certain airlines that we feel we can manage.
Yes, my first question, too, was did she have an epi-pen with her? We travel with MANY! My second thought was how airlines are becoming much less helpful about allergies. We have flown United almost exclusively and they usually have made announcements for my child. But it was at the flight attendant’s discretion and I always felt it was because he was seen as this cute innocent child who anybody would want to protect. Now that he looks like a teenager, even though he is not quite, there has been a big shift. All that sympathy and kindness is gone. On our last flight this past February, it was strongly suggested twice (on American Airlines) to not fly with him. I think the announcement, in this case, was also seen as that she is an adult and can take care of herself. Even though the risk is as great if she was 5 or 45. The unhelpful attitude about food allergy is making it very difficult to fly!
I also question if the woman who ate the peanuts really would have not eaten the peanuts if an announcement was made. I know she said that after the fact, but who wants to be responsible for almost killing someone. But almost every flight I have been on where an announcement was made, the flight attendant came back and told me he had gotten angry comments from other passengers. No one wants to be told they cant eat the food they brought to eat on a long flight! Maybe the peanut eating lady was sincere, but I question what might have really happened if the announcement was made.
I am not sure how I feel about the law suit. If she was carrying an epi-pen then it is certainly better then if she was not. It shows she was taking personal responsibility. If there was no epi-pen then I think no law suit. I also think, in general it is good that stories like this make the news because it shows there is a problem. And the fact that it is an adult in this case is good too. Our children will be adults soon and their cuteness will not get them as far with people. People need to see the real danger and respond out of that, not just because it is a child.
Luann,
You bring up a very important point! It is very easy to want to support and help the darling little one who can not self manage yet. But alas, my teen is hairy and fighting off pimples right now. A flight attendant might believe he is self managed, which at the point means he won’t lick the seat or pick his nose. But…he can still inhale the dust from nuts!
I agree, I need more details on the lawsuit. Was the passenger prepared? We still have so much in front of us in terms of life expanding with food allergies, but we’ve certainly come a long over the last decade!
This is difficult on so many different levels. I have had to fly from CA to TX during treatment because it was the lesser of two evils (being on a plane full of people for 4 hours or a two -three day car trip and no place to stay along the way). The plane was always a risk if I had an anaphylactic reaction to all the chemicals or the possibility of mold on clothes of the person sitting next to me.
It is so difficult to control that kind of environment. I always had my histamine and epinephrine with me and I breathed oxygen the whole trip to try and control the air going into my lungs.
Oh Kathryn,
How difficult that trip must have been! Do you need to travel often?
Here are a few thoughts:
1) People with food allergies always need to carry an Epi-pen with them. You are asking for trouble if you do not.
2) There is a lot of talk about “self-managing”. If you can not breathe peanuts and you are in a place where you do not have the option to leave, such as an airplane, how are you supposed to “self-manage”? An epi-pen is not a magic pill that makes the problem go away. An epi-pen buys you time to get to an emergency room. It merely slows down the reaction. It does not make the reaction go away.
3) Food allergies are a recognized disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act. There are basic rights of the disabled that are supposed to be accommodated. Public transportation and the right to breathe are included. Yet the airlines are not making reasonable accommodations for those with food allergies. Reasonable accommodations could include: making an announcement, not serving peanuts/tree nuts in any class, offering a peanut free meal/snack, creating a buffer zone of four rows. Buffer zones in the past have typically been three rows. However, as we have seen in the news this week even four rows was not enough to stop an anaphylactic reaction. It would truly be better if, like cigarettes, airlines ask that customers refrain from eating peanuts/tree nuts while on board. It is not the airlines responsibility for searching anyone for peanuts/tree nuts. They don’t search for cigarettes. It isn’t a problem. Presently, people with nut allergies are at a very high risk whenever they fly. They are being discriminated against. It is not reasonable to expect people with nut allergies to never fly. It is not within the confines of a typical average citizen to be able to rent a private plane for a private flight. Public transportation should be available to them.
4) There are some medical conditions that require protein to be eaten, such as diabetes. People with these conditions often depend on peanuts/tree nuts. Peanuts/tree nuts are not the only choice diabetic people have. There are people who are allergic to peanuts and who also have diabetes. People with peanut/tree nut allergies do not have the option whether or not to breathe peanuts that are being consumed by another on an airplane. ie Diabetes does not demand that peanuts absolutely have to be eaten while on an airplane. There are other protein choices.
5) A peanut butter sandwich is not more important than a life. ie The right (which is not granted anywhere) to eat anything you choose where ever you choose NEVER trumps the right for another person to live, to breathe, to have major life sustaining organs be able to function.
Here are a few thoughts:
1) People with food allergies always need to carry an Epi-pen with them. You are asking for trouble if you do not.
2) There is a lot of talk about “self-managing”. If you can not breathe peanuts and you are in a place where you do not have the option to leave, such as an airplane, how are you supposed to “self-manage”? An epi-pen is not a magic pill that makes the problem go away. An epi-pen buys you time to get to an emergency room. It merely slows down the reaction. It does not make the reaction go away.
3) Food allergies are a recognized disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act. There are basic rights of the disabled that are supposed to be accommodated. Public transportation and the right to breathe are included. Yet the airlines are not making reasonable accommodations for those with food allergies. Reasonable accommodations could include: making an announcement, not serving peanuts/tree nuts in any class, offering a peanut free meal/snack, creating a buffer zone of four rows. Buffer zones in the past have typically been three rows. However, as we have seen in the news this week even four rows was not enough to stop an anaphylactic reaction. It would truly be better if, like cigarettes, airlines ask that customers refrain from eating peanuts/tree nuts while on board. It is not the airlines responsibility for searching anyone for peanuts/tree nuts. They don’t search for cigarettes. It isn’t a problem. Presently, people with nut allergies are at a very high risk whenever they fly. They are being discriminated against. It is not reasonable to expect people with nut allergies to never fly. It is not within the confines of a typical average citizen to be able to rent a private plane for a private flight. Public transportation should be available to them.
4) There are some medical conditions that require protein to be eaten, such as diabetes. People with these conditions often depend on peanuts/tree nuts. Peanuts/tree nuts are not the only choice diabetic people have. There are people who are allergic to peanuts and who also have diabetes. People with peanut/tree nut allergies do not have the option whether or not to breathe peanuts that are being consumed by another on an airplane. ie Diabetes does not demand that peanuts absolutely have to be eaten while on an airplane. There are other protein choices.
5) A peanut butter sandwich is not more important than a life. ie The right (which is not granted anywhere) to eat anything you choose where ever you choose NEVER trumps the right for another person to live, to breathe, or to have major life sustaining organs be able to function.
Dear R,
Thank you so very much for your well written and well thought out points. I am definitely in agreement with you! Epinephrine needs to be carried but you are right, if someone is unconscious and struggling to breathe, they will need assistance period.
Again, I really appreciated your sharing of your ideas.
Have a great week!
Thank you for your insight as a former flight attendant AND an extremely savvy food allergy parent.
Air travel is tough all the way around!
Thanks for such a nicely written article and getting to the two main points, in my opinion. 1 – Any individual with a life-threatening allergy should always carry the medication and epipen with them. To not do so at any time, is risking your life. My son is ANA to nuts and we don’t go anywhere without BOTH. 2 – My perspective comes from being a flight attendant. Look up the airlines policy and carry a copy of it with you at all times. Show it to whomever you come across with the airline – gate agents, flight attendants, pilots. Unfortunately, employees aren’t always away of the policies, especially if they have changed fairly recently. If the airline said they would make an announcement and they didn’t, there is a huge accountability issue here. I will say that many times flight attendants make announcements about peanuts, and other passengers don’t even pay attention. If they have brought their own trailmix on board, they don’t like being inconvenienced. The airlines can’t stop others from bringing on or opening their peanut products. They can only do their best to get others to be accomodating to others and their needs. It sounds as though everyone could have done a better job holding up their end of their responsibilities.