Peanut allergy and air travel?

my son as a peanut allergy and has recently been to hospital to see dietician who told me when we go abroad in august to inform the airline as the air gets circulated on plane and if any one is eating nuts in could cause a outbreak.today i saw pediatrician and he said that is extreme and not to say anything,i dont know wwho to listen too any one out there had a problem like this?

i asked for epi pen but they would'nt give me one just gave piraton medicine.

Your son sound like me. I am severly allergic to nuts and even the smell can cause an outbreak. But airlines don't serve peanuts on the planes anymore. Your son should be fine. But you need to insist on an epi pen. If your going away your son could end up eating something that has peanuts in it on accident. INSIST ON THE EPI PEN.

Not to worry, the airlines don't serve peanuts anymore.

Airlines tend not to serve packs of peanuts but you can't exclude some dishes might have some nuts. If you are really worried and HAVE to fly, take along an Epi-Pen (child's dose). Ask you doctor for one and make sure you know how to use it. In extremis, it could be a life-saver.

It depends on the level of toxicity. You mentioned the dietician told you that, and not an allergist. If it was that bad, I'm sure your dr. would have given you a note to that effect. The only airlines that serve peanuts is Southwest, based out of Dallas Love Fieldl Airport. Have a Nice Flight and Happy Trails! LOL :}

You really need an epi pen for peanut allergy. Peanut allergy is the most lethal food allergy. Any allergist worth his/her salt knows this. Get a new doctor if yours will not prescribe an epi.

As far as flying goes, here is a link to what FAAN says:

http://www.foodallergy.org/Advocacy/airl...

Good Luck!

I am an alternative medicinal therapist, this includes nutritional therapy and i would listen to the dietitian, she's right. Inform the staff on the airline. they will then accommodate your problem. they will probably inform the passengers of your problem and ask them not to eat peanuts. It has been done before

gloriashealth@btinternet.com. i
f you contact me we can have a chat about it

INSIST on a epi! Change pediatrians if need be. Go to www.foodallergy.org and consult the list of allergy friendly airlines before you travel. Continental is TERRIBLE. They will make NO accomadations.

Also check out www.kidswithfoodallergies.org.

Airlines DO serve nuts quite often. I just traveled a year ago and I have a friend that travels regularly.

Depending on your son's age and the fact little kids can sometimes give mixed signals when sick, I can kinda see the doctor not wanting to give one (although, not really - they can kill him if he gets a dose he doesn't need, but when you need one you need one). I can't see a doctor saying not to tell the airline, because that's just stupid.

What I do when I fly: first, call the airline and told them about my allergies. They were fairly helpful and accomodating. At the very least, they will tell you up front what they can and cannot do for you. They probably cannot tell passengers not to eat nuts, but they can probably get you a flight where no peanuts are served or get you a special meal. They will also tell you what their emergency medical kit has - some airlines have epi-pens (or so I hear) and some don't. Second, if you get an epi-pen, get a doctor's note. Don't count on the prescription label being enough; you might end up getting screened by someone who will try to make you check it (and if you put up a fuss, you'll probably miss your flight). Third, I'd get a referral for an actual allergist. They can tell you if your son needs an epi-pen or not, whether or not the anyone eating nuts onboard statement will hold true, and give you some pointers for flying safely.

Honestly, if you are that concerned, I wouldn't fly. My allergy isn't severe enough that I'll go into anaphylactic shock just from breathing peanut dust in the air (bronchospasms and hives, maybe, but for me anaphylactic shock normally requires ingestion or skin contact), but I don't like flying all that much (and wouldn't do it if I didn't have to) because there is pretty much zero chance of me getting medical aid in time if I have a reaction up in the air.