Eating nuts on train?

[Watdidusay]

I need a sense check. I was eating a biscuit on a national rail train yesterday. It had a peanut butter filling.
I was standing in the gangway as the train had almost no seats.
At one stop, a woman and 2 young children were getting off. As they were waiting for the train to stop the woman said to me you can't eat peanuts on the train as it's a confined space. I didn't immediately understand and didn't really respond properly. She then got off.

I feel humiliated and stupid. I knew sometimes on planes this wasn't allowed if someone was allergic but didn't know this was the case on trains.

AIBU for not understanding?

The are sold on the train. I eat them. It's not illegal.

My daughter has an epipen milk allergy.
Would you please stop having any dairy outside your home...

It's selfish to eat nuts in public

This - and obviously neither of her child had a peanut allergy or were having an allergic reaction, so she clearly didn’t know what she was talking about.

No it’s fine. My daughter is allergic to peanuts. A train is ok because if the child suffers a reaction they can get off/train can be stopped and an ambulance can get to them. You can’t do that in the sky.

The woman was being unfair. But she was probably anxious . Living in with allergy is stressful when travelling

Same here. You can’t control other people; only your response to the situations you find yourself in.

Scared of tomatoes.

what have I just read?!

Are bees selfish to buzz around in public

I don't eat them because I like them too much, particularly chilli flavoured ones. More of an addiction than an allergy for me. Same with crisps.

I probably wouldn’t but it’s fine generally. Loads of people eat granola bars and the like out and about and people with allergies know that and are likely to take precautions to avoid being killed by it such as wiping surfaces, wearing a mask or taking a car.

yanbu. She sounds quite stupid.

@SurferRona

of course your tuna pot is will have some smell, don’t be silly!

This is an interesting read for me because I threw a cereal bar into my bag to eat on the train into work recently but couldn’t bring myself to eat it when I saw it had nuts in. I have a history of anxiety so assumed turning up to the office starving because I was scared of accidentally killing someone with a chocolate and peanut cereal bar on the way in was classic overthinking on my part.

Reassuring to see some people think that it’s actually a perfectly reasonable concern! Saying that I don’t actually think you were being unreasonable at all.

You can eat peanuts wherever you want in public. The person only reacts when they digest the specific protein that causes their allergy. In very rare instances, physical contact can cause irritation/potential reaction. It is not airborne.

my kids both carry EpiPens for peanuts allergy. I think it’s fine to eat peanuts on a train.

I bet she wouldn’t have said it to a big bloke 😂😂😂

I used to eat my peanut bar without thinking, or spray my deodorant on public transport. I wait now till I get off. Just incase

Nuts aren't the only allergy. Are people supposed to go about their lives making sure never to expose anyone to any allergens?

The only person responsible for managing someone's allergies is themselves.

Surely there wouldn't be any risk of that though if the allergic person isn't eating them? Is it airborne?

"Put your snickers down mate, no nuts!!"

Do trains not have windows? Fresh air from outside is able to come in and out? Or if not the doors gape open wide several times every hour? It's not like a plane where there's no natural air?
Maybe the tube it's more risky but not an overground train?

This is nonsense. You need to protect your child and accept the limitations that come with their conditions. It is not on the general public to stop doing very reasonable things so you can feel comfortable.

That woman was a nut-ter.

Yes you can eat them obviously but just don’t from now on just in case someone is very allergic

In the situation that OP is describing, would it have been dangerous for your son? How would I navigate this personally if I wanted to be more aware? I have a son with Coeliac so although I know about his safety, I also know that it’s not immediately dangerous for him to be around or exposed to gluten, unlike a severe allergy. So I’d want to be considerate regarding children in particular who tend to touch everything etc