jetBlueNYFL

This thread caught my attention, because I am severely allergic to tree nuts. People often confuse peanuts and tree nuts, however, a peanut is not really a "nut." Nonetheless, peanut allergies are still extremely common.

Some in this thread stated something I have heard a few times before - "I don't remember these types of things when I was a kid." Unfortunately, things change. The world is a constant-changing place and new diseases and allergies are always forming or being discovered.

I carry an Epi-Pen and thankfully I have not had a reaction since my first (and hopefully last) one about 12 years ago. This is most likely due to my extreme caution in reading ingrediants and letting restaurant personnal know of my allergy - and stressing the severity of it so they understand. I frequently fly, but my allergy is not really affect by the particles being airborne...I can go into shock only if I eat it. However, the smell of certain nuts is enough to make my throat "scratch".

There are tons of allergies out there so it would be impossible for an airline (or school or whatever) to eliminate everything - or nothing would be left! However, it is nice when people around you (for example, in an enclosed pressurized cabin for several hours) are polite and care enough to sacrifice some nuts for a few hours (if they have knowledge of the person's allergy.)

Here are some helpful links if you want to read about common allergies:

http://www.foodallergyinitiative.org/

http://www.foodallergy.org/

http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2001/401_food.html

gemac

IIRC, that thread concerned your efforts to get peanuts banned from the plane. AA was countering that she could wear a surgical mask in F or be downgraded to Y to avoid nut exposure. Just out of curiosity, what was the outcome? How did she get to Vegas?

Rampo

Or else those with these types of allergies simply died at an early age with cause of death being a mystery or misdiagnosed.

jetBlueNYFL

Very valid point! Thanks to new technology and scientific studies, there are now ways to prevent death and hopefully avoid very serious illness caused by food allergies. However, people must still be aware that a food allergy means someone can go into shock and possibly die - it does not just mean they get a stomach ache or something.

catwings01

But what constitutes "appropriate precautions"? Even if the airline contacted every single passenger and asked them to avoid bringing nut products onto the flight, they can't be certain of compliance.

ricktoronto

This is so unmanagably unmanageable as to be totally impossible to enforce in practice. The risk is owned by the passenger not the airline.