bennymac

my understanding is that allergies to tree nuts (almonds, cashews, hazlenuts etc) are much, much different than being allergic to peanuts in that you rarely if ever get a full blown anaphylactic response with tree nuts.

So me, being allergic to tree nuts (but not peanuts - I eat peanut butter every morning), if I were to eat a bag of almonds I would feel nauseous and somewhat unwell but I wouldnt feel my throat closing off and be reaching for the epi pen. I've inadvertently eaten food with almonds in it and not suffered any consequences, something a peanut allergic person could never do with peanuts.

I understand that people that are allergic to peanuts have to be careful to not come in contact with peanuts or peanut residue. But almonds and cashews are different. A person with peanut allergies could then be in close proximity to someone eating a bad of almonds and not be in any danger.

Any allergists out there that can chime in and confirm?

Tangoer

When I was a baby I was lactose intolerant, and then while growing up I experienced bad hayfever during the summers. But all of that disappeared after my teens (age 34 currently). The only possibly answer is that my parents successfully beat it out of me - today's kids are soft I tell ya!!

/takes off grumpy old man hat

biglinguist

This was not the case for my son, who had two anaphylactic reactions to tree nuts. If I read the evidence right, there are more cases of peanut anaphylaxis, but that's just because more people are allergic to peanuts.

And there seems to be some evidence that people with tree nut allergies are at higher risk of *developing* peanut allergies, so be careful with that PB!

erasmus99

This is 100% false. There is no difference in the type of reaction that people who are very allergic to either get. Lucky you for only getting a little sick, but that is not the case for many of us.

erasmus99

I don't totally agree with this decision either, but let me know when contact with perfume ever becomes a death sentence at 40,000 feet or when your plane is diverted b/c of a perfume reaction.

Stranger

You think there are no people who are allergic to certain perfumes?

RSWillson

"Dr. Roy Fox, medical director of the Nova Scotia Environmental Health Centre (Canada’s leading centre for people who suffer from environmental sensitivities), notes that surveys show about 16 percent of the population now reports sensitivity to environmental triggers such as strong odours, and about five percent of people report the symptoms are severe enough that they are made physically ill."

http://www.besthealthmag.ca/get-heal...ce-sensitivity

Riccioli

If I get diagnosed with Social Anxiety Disorder can I ask AC to accommodate me with a passenger-free area around me? The J section will do just fine

erasmus99

When someone with a severe nut allergy gets exposed (and I am not talking about airborne particles, but oral exposure), a person will go into shock. And if untreated, the person will die.

Yes, there are people allergic to perfumes and a small percentage may be physically ill.

But to those with an allergy, exposure to perfume, unlike exposure to nuts, will not cause your heart to stop.

bennymac

Thanks for correcting me guys, I guess I am one of the lucky ones with only mild tree nut allergies.

And thanks for the warning about possibly developing peanut allergy. Since I've been eating PB numerous times a week since I was a child I'm confident my immune system isn't going to one day out of the blue start treating peanuts as an allergen that needs to be attacked. I've basically given myself immunotherapy by eating it so much

But if some morning I go into anaphylaxis as I'm eating my english muffin my last thoughts will be of this thread....

tcook052

http://www.northumberlandtoday.com/A...aspx?e=2260391

Severely allergic to nuts, an international development consultant from Colborne takes her life into her hands every time she flies Air Canada.

That's why Sophia Huyer filed a complaint with the Canadian Transport Agency (CTA) on June 12, 2006 "regarding difficulties... experienced relating to peanut and nut allergies when travelling Air Canada," according to the Jan. 6 CTA decision issued last week.

Her complaint was combined with one from the Nugent family on behalf of their daughter, Melanie.

The CTA decision, made three and a half years after Huyer's complaint stemming from two different flights in 2006, direct Air Canada to create a "nut-free zone" and make a general announcement on the aircraft to address the needs of those with "disabilities due to their allergy to peanuts or nuts. " Air Canada still has the right to respond to the CTA ruling within 30 days.

The proposed "nut-free zone" is not a workable solution, Huyer toldNorthumberland Today,given the confined space on an airplane and the distance and time from medical help in the event of an adverse reaction by herself or any other passenger.

"It doesn't go far enough," Huyer said in an interview from her home this week.

"It may make it a bit more safe... by not serving them on board," she said.

But the ruling does not stop other passengers from carrying them on board, Huyer added.

<snip>

Peter Fitzpatrick of Air Canada's Media Centre said that the company is studying the ruling at this time.

"We will respond within the CTA's 30-day timeframe," he wrote in an e-mail this week responding to this newspaper's request for comment on the decision.

Tangoer

How about peanut sniffing dogs for all passengers' carry-ons? They can set up a 2nd station just after the pat-down stations...
Will this ruling apply to Greyhound, Megabus, Coach Canada, etc?

Clearly the solution to all air travel woes is: passengers pass though a shower/de-lousing station (just like in the camps...), and then into a sterile jumpsuit for the flight. The jumpsuits are free for status passengers and are included in your benefits package (the colours match your E/SE luggage tags!) . Otherwise, cost is $10 at time of ticket purchase.

Stranger

Presumably she never goes to a restaurant, or offices, or takes public transportation? All environments which likely contain much more airborne nut particles than planes.

Or does she insist in her continued misguided belief that airplane air is as bad as these other environments?

mapleg

I see she mentions she can fly other airlines but it would be "inconvenient" for her.

Using her logic, I should call a grocery store near me and demand they carry none of the products I or my family are or might be allergic to. Sure, I could go to other stores, but that would be "inconvenient" for me.

Now that I think about it, it is inconvenient for me to have to buy alcohol at the LCBO--. Perhaps I should file a complaint. The most convenient location would be a gas station close to my home

YYCguy

I think the issue here is that in an airplane at 40,000 feet, it's really hard to just leave the environment causing the reaction whereas in a restaurant or public transit vehicle, you can just leave the area. Also, in an airplane, unless there is medical help onboard, the flight attendants can only do so much to aid the passenger until they can get the plane down on the ground and get the patient to a hospital.