AIBU to think peanuts should not be eaten on the Tube?

[SuperGinger]

I was on the Tube yesterday and the man next to me had an open packet of peanuts which he was eating. It's such a common allergy and I know quite a few people, including my own brother, who would have had a serious reaction if they had been on that Tube.

Should I have said to him he shouldn't eat peanuts on thevTube even though I would not be impacted because I was worried about other potential sufferers in the carriage, as it's a very confined space and it was rush hour.

AIBU - It's a free world
YANBU - peanuts are a very common allergen and people should not eat them in confined public spaces.

🤣

I have always felt unwell when smelling peanuts. From what I've read (link below ) this is psychosomatic and a common response from anaphylactic peanut allergy sufferers. It's horrible because your body senses danger and produces real symptoms.

I have reacted from touching surfaces that people who have eaten nuts have touched. Not an anaphylactic reaction but enough to make me feel very unwell for several hours.

Yes, it is up to me to avoid people who eat nuts in public, but it can be difficult. If it were a crowded carriage, getting away from it could be difficult.

So it's not realistic to ban them generally though I think banning them on flights is sensible.

Interesting that people report being bullied about their allergies too. Would certainly chime with my experience and this thread. People seem to get cross about it . I find it quite an strange take.

https://healthtalk.unchealthcare.org/can-simply-smelling-peanuts-cause-an-allergic-reaction/

https://www.anaphylaxis.org.uk/study-reveals-significant-need-burden-and-psychosocial-impact-of-peanut-allergy/

Yes, I’ve always found the smell of nuts revolting which is why I didn’t find out I was allergic to them until I was in my teens, because I’d always refused them.

Interesting. My response is obviously from the fact I know they can kill me. Physical and real response though psychosomatic. Yours sounds instinctive. The body is a fascinating thing!

It up there with that thing, anyone can become allergic to anything at any point in time.

I think more general awareness of anaphylaxis is needed. Focusing on one or two allergens isn't a great idea.

Indeed! It started with a pear first, and cherries, both requiring trip to A&E and adrenaline.
Then when I went to see an immunologist, she said "just don't eat them!"

So I don't, and don't try anything new. Just in case!

The two of you are comparing different things.

Peanuts are not the most common cause of anaphylaxis.

Peanuts and tree nuts together - two separate allergies - do cause more anaphylaxis than any other single allergen. Which is what the link says.

Part of having an allergy is having to manage the risk of contact with the allergen. I have animal allergies - I simply don't go to farms etc with my kids because my horse reaction is anaphylactic. Dogs is my biggest problem because they are now allowed everywhere. Including trains. I've reacted on a train before and had no idea it was because a very well behaved dog was chilling out two or three seats behind me. People sit them on the seats and all sorts. I've had cats in the luggage rack above my head, you name it.

Now, would I like it to be easier to avoid? Yes. It would be nice if animals were only allowed in certain carriages (or certain carriages were not allowed animals, either works) - but it's never going to happen. I just have to manage those risks, and take appropriate action. And this is the same, you will sometimes be taken by surprise unfortunately and have to deal with that. You will never be able to ban all allergens from public transport. I reacted in a theatre not long ago - I presume a nearby patron had lots of animal dander on them or similar. I discretely spoke to an usher who was immediately able to help me move, and the reaction thankfully calmed down with medication so I could stay :) That same theatre definitely sold snacks containing food allergens so it would be a similar issue for those with food allergies.

YANBU. I love nuts but wouldn't eat them on public transport. And if they're not banned on planes, they should be.

TBH it would be impossible to ban it.

It would give people a false sense of security. So many people are clueless to what is actually in food.

Nuts are everywhere- in bars, chocolate etc.

I wouldn’t eat loose nuts on the tube (don’t like eating on the tube anyway, even snacking, but I def eat nuts when out and about.

Def wouldn’t eat on a plane - on the last flight I took there was the message re no nuts as someone highly allergic. I remember the days they gave out peanuts.

Re allergies, there’s a great Zoe podcast about the rise of allergies - they said milk was the biggest allergen for young children, but they often grow out of it.

Yes nuts are everywhere in confectionery including things that aren't obvious like Double Deckers.

It would be impossible to reliably ban it.

They do often grow out of milk allergy, but not all do. And while they have the allergy it can be deadly.

And it's everywhere.

People get allergic to stuff. You can't stop everything from existing. It's sad but the only thing to do is to keep funding research for it.

There is nothing inherent about peanut allergies that makes them more dangerous or life threatening.
Any allergy that leads to severe anaphylaxis has equal risk to life. The most critical thing with anaphylaxis is prompt medical attention and the most dangerous anaphylaxis a person can have is their first anaphylaxis as you won't have access to auto injectable adrenaline which is why there is big calm currently for emergency based epipens to be around similar it AED and why every school having their own set of epipens was part of the changes brought in following the death of Benedict Blythe. I have had 3 anaphylatic reactions and by far the first was the scariest after that I knew that I could get medical help in time. This is where the airplane rules come in, you are 10-100 times less likely to have an allergic reaction on a plane compared to on other forms of transport. So if you had an anaphylatic level allergy you would be of lower risk on a plane. However, if you did have a reaction on a plane access to medical attention required could take longer so there is higher risk, especially if you were doing a transcontinental flight.

Peanut proteins are not aerosol generating so can't be airborne but there is some evidence that the process of deshelling roasted peanuts produces dust that can be inhaled which would be the one exception to this. So it is probably a good idea not to be deshelling peanuts around public or people you are unaware of having allergies. Eating a snickers is unlikely to have the same risks from this perspective

My daughter has over 20 allergies and for us the biggest concern is always touch, especially when she was a baby/toddler and hands are in their mouths so often. If you want to be conscious of reducing allergy risk to others when eating, wash your hands with soap and water after eating and be careful when touching handrails etc before hand. Ensure you take all of your wraps and food with you.

I'm a lot less worried about sitting with my daughter on public transport for an hour where I can keep an eye on the people and food around me. She knows to avoid touching things and to not move around. Going to the park or soft play or zoo etc I'm more wary of as there is more food around and blurring between activity and meal so food is ate more on the go and especially in the summer when there are ice creams and soft practically melted chocolate around the risk of cross contamination is much higher.

For bedtime reading if anyone wants - a paper doing meta data analysis on nut allergies and air travel https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12013556/