Originally Posted by
trilinearmipmap
No one knows (at least my child's allergist tells me that no one knows) the true reason for the increased incidence of food allergies in recent years. Glad to know there are so many self-styled medical experts here on Flyertalk to reveal the truth behind this mystery. Particularly the geniuses who think it is all imaginary. After watching my child have two anaphylactic reactions, I suppose the third time it happens instead of rushing to the E.R. I should tell my kid to stop the act, we are on to him now.
Parents have a responsibility to take what measures they can to protect their kids. The mother who brought her kid onto an airplane without an EpiPen was negligent. As are airlines who serve peanuts to passengers. Peanuts cause severe anaphylactic reactions with enough frequency among the population to pose a serious danger in the confined space of an airplane, far from definitive medical treatment. An EpiPen will buy you some time, that is all. After the first airline gets sued following death from a peanut allergy, I suspect the issue will be resolved.
If my kids were so allergic to peanuts that bringing them on a plane where somebody ate peanuts would kill them, there is no way I would bring them on a plane, period. Air travel is not necessary, it is a luxury, and unless you are flying your kids to a hospital for life-saving treatment maybe you should reconsider and just drive in your own car, where you can control everything that they are exposed to.
If your child is really THAT allergic, why would you take him anywhere that there was even a chance that he would be exposed to peanuts????
It is YOUR responsibility to protect your child, not ours....