Nuts on planes

[Bookmonster123]

Hi

I am due to fly with DS soon, first time he’s been on a plane. DS has a peanut allergy, has epi pens prescribed. What’s the protocol about nuts during the flight.

Do I tell the airline at booking, check in or on the day? Do they always accommodate requests not to eat nuts during the flight?

Thanks

Airborne allergens do not = the dust from the product.

Airborne allergens = microscopic particles.

It's what smells constitute, if you can smell it...you can breathe it.

One thing about epi-pens.
Cut out the prescription bit from the box and stick it in the pouch with your epi-pens.

These threads always remind me how little people understand about allergies.

Oh well, the previously mentioned Imperial College study from last year, key finding number 4:

“Research studies, including aircraft simulations, demonstrate that there is no evidence to support airborne transmission of peanut/tree nut allergens as a likely phenomenon. On this basis general “nut bans” or announcements requesting passengers not to consume nuts on a specific flight are not supported. Local “buffer zones” may help limit potential exposure but evidence is lacking, nonetheless their implementation may provide additional reasssurance to food-allergenic passengers,”

In your own time, carry on…..

https://www.caa.co.uk/publication/download/20976

You're kidding right?

My daughter has a severe milk allergy and once had an airborne reaction (along with egg, nuts and sesame but milk is the most concerning one for me due to it being everywhere)
I was terrified when I flew with her last year but she was absolutely fine (obviously I know milk can’t be banned on a flight and it would be unreasonable to ask)
I get your worries but there is so much emphasis on only nuts when a person can be allergic to anything, you just have to take your precautions such as wiping down the area and you are extremely lucky the airline will make an announcement around your sons nut allergy as for my daughters milk allergy there would be an uproar for all the passengers who couldn’t have their cups of tea and coffee! You can’t control what other selfish people choose to do and there have been studies around how tiny the risk is of someone actually having an airborne reaction to nut dust, just to make you feel better

Thankfully I don't have allergies but if I did I definitely wouldn't be travelling in a sealed tube 30,000 feet off the ground where I would be totally reliant on other people to help keep me alive.

An hour later the woman across the aisle from me was munching on a Snickers. Don't count on compliance.

I wonder if in some languages the word for peanut doesn't have any reference to nuts at all, since it's a legume and a simple no nut announcement could be open to misinterpretation. Then there's things like sesame, nut bans in schools frequently include it but I imagine most wouldn't include it under nuts.

@mitogoshi That's good to hear because the last BA flight I was on (a long one, London - Cali) they refused to pull them. It must be staff dependent, which is infuriating. I'm flying with them to Aus later this year (no choice, work books the flights) and was worrying about it already so it gives me some hope!

This is a very sad and simple minded thing to say, shame on you

People say this, but few parents would restrict their children's lives to this extent when there are perfectly sensible precautions within the parent's control.

To be Fair to the entire thread my gripe was about being told not to eat fish on a flight with no notice

nothing to do with peanuts which I get because I have a child with a mild peanut allergy

not that I have ever announced it or asked for dietary restrictions on a flight.

Also, this is a common misunderstanding with asking people to not eat an allergen and I think part of why a lot of people react so badly - because they hear 'you are responsible for my health' and they think 'I can't possibly be responsible for that'.

What they're actually being asked is 'For this relatively short period of time, could you do your small part to reduce the chance of a serious medical incident, in an environment where a serious medical incident creates a massive problem for everyone' - and that should be possible.

As somebody with a nut allergy who has also had an allergic reaction on a plane, I find some comments on this thread quite a mess and rather insensitive. I'm sure it's much less of an inconvenience to refrain from eating nuts for a few hours than it is to have a plane grounded mid flight because of a life threatening reaction. Many of you should feel quite lucky that you don't experience the threat of allergies. I also feel that airlines in general need to do better, there are very few that offer a nut free meal.

so as your need for nuts is so great and yet I'm sure you don't want to cause a death, would you consider letting the cabin crew know so they could make sure you are not sitting close to the person with the allergies?

Don’t try and pretend that nuts are a hypo treatment, i’m not stupid. Eating a UPF snack once on a plane won’t kill you. Eating nuts beside someone with an anaphylactic allergy can absolutely kill them. That’s the difference.

This study review has a fundamental flaw - no positive control group. It makes a massive assumption that on every plane every person is being continuously exposed and aren't on any preventative meds.

Yes and if there’s a problem OP can of course just get off the plane and call an ambulance ……oh wait 🤦‍♀️

What they're actually being asked is 'For this relatively short period of time, could you do your small part to reduce the chance of a serious medical incident, in an environment where a serious medical incident creates a massive problem for everyone' - and that should be possible.

Well quite. But what this thread shows is that it's not possible, therefore, personally, I wouldn't be taking the risk.

Also - to the poster saying nuts are a hypo treatment - they aren’t and you’re stupid and probably very likely to pass out from low blood sugar if that’s what you’re using to
treat hypos!!! Me and my dd are type 1 - you use glucose or something like pure fruit juice or sweets if you don’t have glucose. Nuts are not fast acting enough so don’t use that as a excuse to endanger someone’s life who has an allergy

I'm going to be honest, I often forget about almonds. I could imagine hearing this announcement, not getting out the bag of nuts but no considering the almost croissant for example. It doesn't have to be people choosing to be inconsiderate.

This is a very sad and simple minded thing to say, shame on you

??

What is Sad and simple minded about saying I wouldn't fly if I had a nut allergy because other people are dicks about it? It would be lovely if everyone complied, but this thread shows clearly that they wouldn't.

@VeryGoodVeryNiceChickenNugget Care to elaborate on your bizarre hypo treatment choices or is it just an excuse for you to be selfish and eat the nuts?

My child is peanut allergic and goes to a nut free after school club. More than once I've gone to put a Kinder hazelnut hippo thing in her packed lunch. It's easily done, and it's why those with allergies need to focus on the things they can control rather than trying to create an allergen free environment (and why nut free schools aren't recommended).

These are understandable mistakes, but the nut free thing = it's not actually expecting a nut free environment. It's just reducing risk/exposure as much as possible and raising awareness, rather than 'you are responsible for a nut free environment and keeping the allergic children alive'. An occasional almond croissant or kinder bueno exposure is much better than a daily PB sandwich exposure, and if they're little the problem is in a childcare setting they eat eachothers food and bloody lick eachother half the time so it's best to try to remove as much as possible so the carers don't have to put the allergic kid in a cupboard or something every snack time!

So what in your controlled diet means you can't have roasted chickpeas? Or seeds? Dark chocolate? Babybel? Shit loads of options provided here. Nuts are absolutely not required for survival.

www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/enjoy-food/eating-with-diabetes/healthy-swaps/healthy-swaps-snacks