Took my mask off on the aeroplane AIBU

[Tsubasa1]

I was on a 5-hour flight recently alone with my two kids under 3. I once every few years might suffer from travel sickness and unfortunately on this day it was the worst I've ever had. I believe it may have been caused by having to wear the mask on the aeroplane. I used 20+ sickbags and felt better during the last hour (vomited for 4 hours, 5th hour was better).
I felt really bad but after I started vomiting I couldn't physically put my mask on because I couldn't breath and it made me gag. The air stewards were furiously coming and telling me to put my mask on every 5-10 mins. I had tears in my eyes during all of this and to be honest I can't comprehend how little compassion they had. They kept coming until I firmly said I would be putting my mask on when I felt better. I was keeping my distance from everyone and had no one sitting in front of me, behind or next to me (apart from my children). I didn't have a fever and it had I had been checked before boarding the plane. AIBU to think there was no reason to harrass me while I was throwing up with my face in a bag? Are you scared of people who don't wear masks? Would you go up to someone ill and tell them to put their mask on?

What's all this nonsense saying if she was really travel sick it wouldn't only be once every few years?? You are literally NOT the OP. You might say YOU get travel sick EVERY time but YOU are NOT everyone! I get more travel sick since having hyperemesis in pregnancy (everyone suffers differently you know!) but not every time. Sometimes it's because I'm hungry. Sometimes it's because I've eaten. Sometimes I just don't know. It's not every time. It's just sometimes.

OP it does feel as though compassion has gone out of the window with Covid-19.

YABU saying you couldnt breather in the mask and it made you gag - you panicked. YANBU to not wear a mask when vomiting but YABU not to have medicated against travel sickness when you know you get it sometimes and it's the middle of a pandemic.

@Bemorechicken

Don't fly if you know you get travel sick. This virus is AIRBOURNE.

If you are going to use CAPITALS, then at least spell the word properly.

Really if you were that sick unexpectedly you should have got off...oh wait.

It's a fucking aeroplane what on earth do people expect someone to do?!

People are aware that there actually are exemptions for some people who don't have to wear a mask at all? (Please don't answer that hooves as I, and probably the whole of MN knows your feelings on how everyone everywhere should wear a mask to protect you).

Also the regulations specifically state a legitimate reasons not to wear a mask include

to avoid harm or injury, or the risk of harm or injury, to yourself or others

Throwing up into a mask seems quite likely to cause harm. It's like common sense has fucking disappeared.

YANBU @Tsubasa1

My daughter is an Emtephobe or how ever you spell it, faints and cries when someone is sick and I wouldn’t be angry because these things happen, that’s life.

OP it does feel as though compassion has gone out of the window with Covid-19

I think this statement sums up the world at the moment. Why bother showing compassion when you can come along and kick someone when their down instead. It's staggering just how far some people will go to show they are more morally superior than everyone else.

You were not unreasonable at all. The cabin crew were obviously given instructions about masks but in every situation people are expected to use their common sense and discretion. I'm so sorry that happened, thank goodness it's over. If you travel again, take some travel sickness pills beforehand.

I am full of admiration for you doing a 5 hour flights with two children so young, one a baby! Wow.

The problem with travel sickness is it can be fairly unpredictable. I had it really badly as a child (10m bus to school swimming was enough to set me off), largely grew out of it once I started driving but still get occasional issues if a car has blacked out rear windows (especially mesh), wrong place on a plane in relation to engine vibration or the back of a bus. I can now do ski coach transfers so long as I'm not sat over the wheels or engine.

Bizarrely I'm much better on rough ferry crossings (worst one had 80% + of the boat throwing up, I was fine) but can struggle with engine vibrations on a smooth crossing... Generally spend those on deck which helps! Clearly not an option on the plane!

Obviously they provide sick bags for a reason... I used to fly fairly regularly (sporting stuff), couldn't take travel sickness pills (drugs testing) and was fine 7/10 times.

It's possible that the mask (pressure on nose, slipping into eyeline, affecting natural movement of your head) was enough to push you over the edge - I discoveredthat even though I'm usually fine to read on the train, doing detailed work on a laptop was enough to trigger nausea, skim reading random shite on the net is fine!

I swear some people will only be happy when they can actually staple a mask to people's faces.

I'm epileptic and if I have a seizure whoever I'm with will take my mask off. Do people expect people like me (or anyone being unexpectedly taken ill like
OP) to keep masks on at all times so we don't aerolise people to death?

Definitely @TinySleepThief
I've vomited for 4 hours , yeah we'll you should still wear a mask .
As anyone knows when you have vomited you feel very queasy afterwards so the last thing you'd need is a mask over your face .
And the op is correct people take it off for eating and drinking .

No they’d just bar you from air travel 😨

This mask thing is getting out of hand. And I mean that as someone happy to wear a mask.

It’s like at the start of lockdown when we were being told that by leaving your house even if no one was around you were “LITERALLY killing people” and people were scared to go in their gardens.

Now we are all the wear masks (fine) but let’s show some common sense too.

If we want to do the mask thing for another year or so we’re going to have to reign in the outrage a bit and just assume 90% compliance.

It's amazing how compassion must only travel one way.

How about op showing some compassion and consideration to fellow passengers by taking an anti emetic in order to prevent travel sickness? How about everyone showing some compassion to the fellow passengers and crew who have potentially been exposed to either Covid or some other infection? So, once she was being a sick I guess there was nothing to be done, other than everyone else just having to put up with it but it wasn't unavoidable was it? She could have taken medication to prevent it.

I had completely unexpected travel sickness last summer - spoiled every toilet in the SNCF train! Sympathies - what a nightmare.

I am possibly one of the greatest proponents of mask wearing and social distancing on MN but I seriously don't see what you could have done other than what you did, OP, and I really can't see how any of this was your fault. Must have been a horrible experience, absolutely not your fault.

Oh that sounds shit. I’m surprised that they didn’t offer to sit with your child instead while you could escape to the loo. A quiet flight with social distancing - this sounds like the more professional route.

There have been too many people who have loved being disgusted through this, going out for too long a walk? MURDERER, don’t clap your hands raw for the NHS, ungrateful freak, can’t wear a mask?? MURDERING FREAK.

Really you should have had a supply of masks, vomited into each one, removed it and put a fresh one on.

Actually the government advised that masks can be made from T shirts or old socks. Just carry a load of socks around with you. Tie them to your face one at a time and when you feel sick, remove it and vomit into it (as the sock can double as a bag you see) then replace it with a new sock on your face.

I feel like I should send that into Take
A Break Top Tips (or whatever they are called).

The air stewards were furiously coming and telling me to put my mask on every 5-10 mins. I had tears in my eyes during all of this and to be honest I can't comprehend how little compassion they had.

The cabin crew were probably between a rock and a hard place here.

Given how unpopular mask wearing seems to be if they hadn't been seen to be trying to enforce the regs by halfway to destination probably half the passengers would have been taken ill..

As islockdownisover says there's the danger of them being reported if they hadn't been seen to try and enforce the mask wearing requirement..

There's also the legal issue that crew/airline have a duty of care to everybody on the aircraft...so (in theory at least) whilst they'd have to consider your sickness they'd have to consider the possible impact of you not wearing a mask on the health of other passengers..

YABU

In the current situation and considering you suffer from travel sickness you should not have gone on a flight, especially for 5 hours, unless it was an emergency. The staff on the plane were doing their job.

She could have taken medication to prevent it.

What part of she didn't know she was going to be sick did you not understand? Why must everyone be so flaming mean.

She didn't intentionally not take medication so she could spend 5 hours on a flight with 2 small children being horrendously sick no one would do that for shits and giggles. She clearly would have taken anti sick medication if she thought for any second she was going to be sick.

@Hearhoovesthinkzebras you made your point on the last thread we don't want to hear it again .
Your problem is wear a mask no exceptions , the op has already said she's not been sick for a long time now great idea of yours if only she could see into the future .

I think you should have taken travel sickness pills.

I wondered if the airline was one where cabin crew have little discretion, but the length of the flight seemed to rule out the so-called budget airlines.

The lack of compassion and common sense on this thread is astounding.

Vomiting generates aerosols anyway, so not much point in OP wearing a mask in between as breathing generates far less aerosols. The damage had been done.

Let's imagine it's the worst case scenario. OP was infected with COVID-19 that became symptomatic on the flight, causing vomiting multiple times per hour. Cabin crew could have found somewhere to try to isolate her, and recognised that she wasn't able to put on a mask between spews. Maybe moved people away from the likelihood of splashes and droplets. Surely there is a procedure to enact if someone becomes ill on a plane? And surely the assumption should be it is COVID until proved otherwise?

As it was, what did the cabin crew achieve with their attitude, except upsetting OP at a time when she was clearly under extreme stress already? Did it stop the potential infection of themselves or others? Did it make her more able to wear her mask? No. So they could just as easily have had some compassion.

As could the majority on this thread.

@Helpplease222 this is what the world has come to. My baby sat on the toilet floor while I went for a wee (gross,but I was wearing my mask by the way). No air steward would come within 2 metres of my baby anyway. The lack of help didn't bother me to be honest, I'm not expecting them to do anything. Just to show compassion and let me be while I vomit in my seat keeping my social distance would have been great!