The person next to you has an allergy to the food you are eating. Do you move?

Personally I find the whole nut allergy precious snowflake stuff beyond annoyance. PB&J is the cheapest sandwich a kid can eat in school, and because of such things, cannot bring them to school. Fine, I don't have kids, so it impacts me very little.

I do think that it's gotten to ridiculous points where everyone's sensibilities are trampled over and there's no way to steer it back.

So you pay for tickets to fly to whatever favorite destination, and a situation like this happens where the person sitting next to you says that you cannot continue to eat the meal you made/purchased and brought on board the plane. Who moves? Should you? Should the other individual?

My response would not have been as Mr. Birbiglia's. I would have stayed seated and told the person sitting next to me to move while I ate my sandwich. I'll be done in 10 minutes and they can return then. Why should I have to stand in the aisle trying to eat my sandwich only to be potentially told that another passenger has an allergy and I have to move yet again?

I definitely would not eat my sandwich in the bathroom. That's just disgusting.

 

I would move or put the food away until later. Air Canada, for example, supposedly has a "buffer zone" for such allergies on their flights. I'm sure it could be accommodated.

My nephew had a severe peanut/tree nut allergy; I know how serious it can be. I would probably have told the woman as much.

The nut ban in schools make sense because of cross-contamination. Kids are sloppy. (Adults with no cares can be too.) It's a serious health risk (i.e., kids can die), so why leave it to chance?

From what I understand, the airborne thing is a very rare possibility. It's more an issue of cross-contamination. The allergen in this case is oily. That's a good medium for transmission.

 

I think this is an issue of whether to be good about it.

Someone with a severe nut allergy sitting next to someone eating walnut bread has at least some risk of being exposed. The guy with the bread wasn't kicked off the plane or told to throw away his sandwich. It simply looks like he was informed of the condition of the woman next to him.

Knowing the perceived risk, he went to the bathroom (which was an idiot move, if you think about it).

He was eating something inches away from someone who could go into shock if even a minuscule amount gets in her mouth, nose, or eyes. Shrapnel from his biting could land around her somewhere, and she could then end up touching her face with it.

No matter how rare the risk, the result is severe and life-threatening.

 

I don't belittle the death aspect of it, but realistically if the person with an allergy isn't carrying a current epi-pen and other life saving measures then their allergy isn't all that big of a deal. I saw this as an asthmatic where I carry albuterol and a portable nebulizer when I travel because it can be that serious, and I've taken precautions.

I'm allergic to just about everything except for chicken feathers. Should I request that those with pets aboard the flight be removed?

from the CDC re: food allergy deaths

Meredith Broussard: Food Allergy Deaths: Less Common Than You Think

Deaths related to shark attacks are just under the death by food allergy.





I put this information up because I'd like to refrain from the "I could die" aspects of this...

I'm interested in the "Who should be more inconvenienced?"

 

If they aren't carrying an epi-pen, then they probably aren' t that much at risk. But if they are known to suffer anaphylactic shock, then minimizing the risk is a decent thing to do.

Do you suffer from anaphylactic shock as a reaction?

This like posting stats on pedestrian and vehicular deaths as a reason why gun bans are a-ok. It's not directly related to the issue, so it's pointless. Also, shark repellent doesn't function like epi-pens, and I don't think sharks are allowed on commercial flights, especially not loose.

Are we talking about being hungry vs. being stressed? Are we talking about "my desire for this sandwich exceeds my concern about your health"? Having to put off eating a sandwich on a flight is such a First World problem.

Look, crazy shit can happen where people get hurt or dead in ways that seem impossible. Like I said, if I knew someone next to me was severely allergic to the thing I had on me, I would be considerate and do away with it. I've been on planes before. It's like sharing a closet with 150 people.

 

I work with a kid with a nut allergy. Luckily, it isn't a severe one, and he has outgrown his allergy to tree nuts. When I watch him at home or at school, I know where the epipen is, and I know how to use it. Working with him has made me very aware of nut allergy issues. I did have one classmate growing up who had a severe peanut allergy. I recall that she never got to eat birthday cake at the houses of other people, for fear there would be nuts in it.

I would be considerate. I generally am when consuming nut products. I tend to avoid peanuts in public in lieu of eating tree nuts. I have eaten nuts on an airplane before, but my husband and I had the row to ourselves and so I didn't think about it much. I think airlines could do everyone a favor and seat people with nut allergies somewhere on the plane where they are unlikely to have contact with nuts.

 

I think that's why everyone was told she had an allergy.

Except I wouldn't.

I'm not sure what all the options were. Not eating the sandwich seemed like a simple solution. I'm not sure what else was on the table.

 

I don't think it's as sever as anaphylactic shock since it generally trigger an asthmatic response. If I do not treat myself with a nebulizer session, I will no longer be able to breath.

This is what I'm talking about. If the oil transmission of allergens is such an issue, shouldn't then the airlines have to sterilize the plane between each flight and wipe down each and every surface? I don't think they do that, and I don't believe that it is a reasonable expectation for the 1% that are allergic to certain foods impose upon the other 99%.
--- merged: May 12, 2012 at 5:02 PM ---

We can't ascertain that he was served the meal on the flight, but if that's what he purchased on the flight and that is all that is served, it's not as simple as ask for something without nuts.

If he brought it from home? Or purchased it in the airport?

 

I know pets on flights was/is an issue. I know that perfume is another issue. I know that smoking is too. Some of these fall under rules, others under laws. Ultimately, it may comes down to whether you want to be good about it or not. He could have just eaten the sandwich in his seat; you know, the asshole route.

I'm not sure about the severity of this kind of transmission overall, though I know that immediate/proximity contamination can be an issue. I'm not sure how long something would remain a risk while sitting on a plane. I'm also unsure about the industry standard procedures of cleaning after service. I'm not sure we could compare it to movie theatres.

I'm not sure about a lot of things. Though I'm sure I wouldn't have eaten that sandwich.

You mean like leave the plane? Changing seats maybe (if it was available). But I wouldn't expect her to leave the plane. Also, the word onus often conjures thoughts in my head such as "not my fucking problem."

I wish everyone had them.

I don't think those things are very effective in such situations.

 

Why is he an asshole? Because he can pick up the sandwich and eat it elsewhere? Why isn't the person with an allergy an asshole for demanding that the other person move?

What if he had a full on table required meal like a salad that had nuts on it, or Massaman curry?

 

He wasn't an asshole. That's the point. Also, I didn't read anywhere that the person with the allergy demanded the other person move.

 

but if he sat in his seat he's the asshole. So, why is that action, considered him being an asshole?

In @Remixer's situation he apparently was the asshole according to the Singaporean fellow.

 

It would be his saying, "You have an allergy? I'm too hungry to care. *nom nom*"