Going to do my best to be thoughtful as someone who has severe food allergies and carries around injectable epinephrine (Epipen, Epinephrine Autoinjector, Auvi-Q, whatever you might call it) as a result.
Severe food allergies are a problem. Some are more easily mitigated than others. If you're allergic to eggs, or seafood, generally unless you eat it, you have a cross-contaminated cooking surface or utensil, or it is being cooked directly in front of you (like hibachi) - someone else in the cabin eating it isn't going to be a problem. Nuts are different, particularly peanuts - due to the fact that peanut dust exists.
The rest will become hazy. Who diagnosed anaphylaxis and when on what symptoms?
Originally Posted by Daily Mail
‘When we boarded the crew asked passengers not to eat peanuts as my daughter has an allergy but as we took off I saw a man around ten rows in front eating nuts.
‘I was worried and asked if we could be moved but there was no availability and the crew asked him to stop eating the nuts but he ignored the requests and carried on.’
It's possible that peanut dust could have caused an issue, but given the row distance it might have just been a panic attack.
Originally Posted by Daily Mail
While over the Atlantic and three hours short of Gatwick, Poppy suddenly went into anaphylaxis and was saved after Joanna gave her two shots from Epipens she had with her.
The pens contain epinephrine which is a life -saving medication administered when someone suffers a severe allergic reaction.
The quote is accurate, but to be clear on what EpiPens do, they do not prevent or abate an allergic reaction directly. EpiPen contains epinephrine, or adrenaline. It promotes blood flow (anaphylaxis restricts) to prevent the worst possible consequence of an allergic reaction (death or harm from inability to breathe). It doesn't actually end an allergic reaction or treat it. If you have a severe allergic reaction, a doctor will typically give you epinephrine via shot along with other medications like antihistamines to actually treat the underlying allergic reaction. The effects of epinephrine last 10-20 minutes which is 20-40 minutes to get to a hospital on the ground. 3 hours to ground absent other medical intervention (an antihistamine to deal with the actual allergic reaction) doubtful.
Originally Posted by Daily Mail
Frantic cabin crew made an appeal for a ‘doctor onboard’ and a nurse came forward who helped carry stabilise Poppy with an onboard oxygen mask in an emergency medical kit.
Oxygen could incidentally help, but it doesn't unblock the airways.
Originally Posted by Daily Mail
‘We had asked to change cabin section but the crew couldn’t do that and when she went into anaphylaxis it was awful – she’s had attacks before but never on a plane and that’s what made it all the more frightening.’
Gives me a bit of pause - the suggestion of physical distance is obviously one that could help alleviate the concern but also if anyone with a food allergy could claim free upgrade I'd be in F/J instead of Y.
Originally Posted by Daily Mail
‘Poppy and I feel that it is in others best interests that people know what can happen and we hope for a change in legislation to ban nuts completely onboard flights and for their to be consequences for those who ignore this.’
If I had lobbied to have eggs and seafood banned on planes you'd all have rightfully told me to stay offboard.
I am sorry for the family and sympathetic as someone with severe food allergies. I've done TATL flights eating cookies because that's what was safe on the ingredients list and it sucked. However, I'm not convinced this person actually suffered anaphylactic shock versus a panic attack. If they were exhibiting proper symptoms of a severe allergic reaction, I would find it unimaginable that either the pilot didn't divert, or that they were fine 3+ hours later at Gatwick, absent other medical information that the Daily Mail has not mentioned.