Gransnet forums

Health

Eating nuts in enclosed spaces

(116 Posts)
ordinarygirl Tue 25-Jun-24 15:31:18

The mother of the girl who died from an allergy to sesame seeds (contained in a bagette) has slammed an advert when it shows somebody eating a a peanut bar on a plane. I fully accept that to have an allergy ( not an intolerance) must be awful. However, is it fair to ban other people from eating nuts whilst on a plane ? For vegans, it is usually an easy option for a snack or meal as caterers don't provide anything for vegans to eat. If travelling from home, then it is easy to take a sandwich but when coming home from a holiday then it is not the case. Hence the purchase of a nut bar. As far as I know there are no restrictions on what people can eat on a plane - I wish there was (when it is smelly meat or eggs). So the questions are - a) should there be a ban on nuts - like smoking? b) The chances of meeting someone with an allergy must be low , so is it fair?

EkwaNimitee Tue 25-Jun-24 15:42:04

No, it’s not fair or right, first nuts then what next?
My emergency travelling stash-for a low blood sugar episode or meal not turning up-includes fruit and nut bars. I had to use them yesterday on a train journey.
I can’t imagine what non-perishable items could be substituted.

Grandmabatty Tue 25-Jun-24 15:49:41

So your 'right' to eat nuts means someone's life is at risk? Are you saying that you couldn't find an alternative for the two or three hours in an airplane? Nut allergy is one of the most severe allergies

Greenfinch Tue 25-Jun-24 15:50:05

Does it really hurt anyone to refrain from eating nuts on a plane journey if somebody’s life could be at risk ?Children at school seem to cope without taking peanuts in their packed lunches. Is it too much to ask?

Kate1949 Tue 25-Jun-24 15:52:52

I have just been reading an article from the mother of a young woman who was left brain damaged by eating just one mouthful of food despite explaining her condition to the restaurant staff and being assured that no nuts were in the dish. She said that just opening a packet of nuts in the vicinity of someone with a severe allergy can send them into anaphylactic shock with potentially devastating consequences.

Kate1949 Tue 25-Jun-24 15:54:02

Yes exactly. Eat something else.

Theexwife Tue 25-Jun-24 15:56:49

This is a matter of life and death, surely people can refrain from eating nuts for a few hours.

Vegans can find something else to eat or manage without protein for a short while.

I would go further and always have a ban on nuts on a flight, just in case.

Shelflife Tue 25-Jun-24 16:07:33

Of course it's fair !!? How can it not be . People with a nut allergy are in a very serious situation indeed. How hard is it not to eat nuts , even if you are vegan ? For goodness sake , by not eating nuts on a plane you are preserving life. No one in my family has such an allergy thank goodness, I am just grateful for that and would be very willing to refrain from scoffing nuts on a plane.

Kate1949 Tue 25-Jun-24 16:13:06

To be honest, I was on a flight years ago and they said no no one should eat nuts on the flight as someone had an allergy. I thought 'What a cheek. No one can have nuts because of one person.' It's only after I read about it that I realised it can be life or death.

MissAdventure Tue 25-Jun-24 16:16:12

Did anyone see the damage done to a young woman who worked on the 'This Morning' programme a good few years ago?,

Up,until seeing it, I would have thought it was a big fuss, but she was left in a terrible state.

It was on a plane, too

Marydoll Tue 25-Jun-24 16:21:10

As the mother of a son, who nearly died at the age of four from anaphylaxis, due to an unknown peanut allergy, I find some of the comments insensitive. The memory is still clear in my mind.

We have never asked people not to eat nuts near him, but on a plane it is different, it is a confined space. It can take just a trace to trigger anaphylaxis

We had a numbe rof pupils in my school, who had to keep an Epipen near them, in case of an episode.It is more common than you think.

Kate1949 Tue 25-Jun-24 16:23:15

Yes MissA that's the lady I was talking about, Amy Shead. She worked on This Morning. I believe it happened in a restaurant in Hungary not on a plane.

ttgran Tue 25-Jun-24 16:26:10

I rarely post but I must respond to the first two messages going without nuts in an enclosed environment will not kill you but it would kill my grandson there are many alternatives you can have for low sugar episodes it doesn’t have to be nuts.
Due to his allergy my family are all now trained in administering the Epi pen which is the last resort even then it is not guaranteed it will work and at 35000 feet what do you do ?Like Natasha sadly she died at 16 years of age all because the company concerned failed to say the sandwich had sesame seeds. She checked the ingredients thought she was ok but no.
If you had family with this condition would you be so cavalier that it’s not fair.

Callistemon213 Tue 25-Jun-24 16:26:45

Grandmabatty

So your 'right' to eat nuts means someone's life is at risk? Are you saying that you couldn't find an alternative for the two or three hours in an airplane? Nut allergy is one of the most severe allergies

I agree.
We have a friend with a severe nut allergy. If she touched something that someone had touched with nut on their fingers then touched her mouth, she could go into anaphylactic shock. At 30,000 ft how does aircrew deal with it?

Thst is why Airlines do not hand out nurs as snacks any more.

MissInterpreted Tue 25-Jun-24 16:34:49

I don't see how it's unfair. Something like a nut allergy can be life-threatening. Surely anyone can go without eating nuts for the length of a flight? It's not as if there aren't any alternatives. I have a friend who suffered a severe allergic reaction (although not to nuts) on a flight - thankfully she had her epipen to hand, or the consequences could have been fatal.

Visgir1 Tue 25-Jun-24 16:39:45

Having just done a long haul flight, home this weekend you get snacks but not Nuts, this has been like this for several years now.
The food they serve is also Nut free.

I have an allergy to Avocado's, it's in everything!

winterwhite Tue 25-Jun-24 16:44:45

Hang on. In view of what some posters have said about allergies kicking in from the mere opening of packets of nuts it would seem sensible for airlines not to offer nuts if allergy sufferers are on the flight. But sufferers from such an extreme allergy should surely do their bit by saying so when booking, and if none reported nuts could be allowed as at present.

Callistemon213 Tue 25-Jun-24 16:47:34

DD filled in the form to say that she needed gf food but didn't get any. 13 hour flight.

TerriBull Tue 25-Jun-24 16:53:20

As it can be life and death for some people to be in close proximity to nuts, I'd happily not eat them if asked it wouldn't bother me, it's not a big deal, compromising another person's life is a very big deal!

Marydoll Tue 25-Jun-24 17:00:50

We have aways reported DS's nut allergy in the past, prior to flying. It didn't make a bit of difference! People thought we were making a fuss about nothing.

When we first discovered DS's allergy thirty eight years ago, it wasa rare occurance. Only the quick thinking of a doctor friend saved his life. My GP dismissively said he had never heard of it, that is until his daughter experienced the same thing.
In those days, Epipens had to come from the USA and cost a fortune.
Thank goodness clinicians are more aware nowadays.

Also there is a link between peanut allergies and an allergy to latex. That makes medical and dental treatment problematic.

My son suffered anaphylaxis after reacting toa GA, thank goodness he was in an operating theatre, with plenty of doctors around him.

karmalady Tue 25-Jun-24 17:22:37

peanuts are legumes not nuts. A peanut allergy would not automatically predispose to having an allergy to tree nuts. Yes I would eat tree nuts in public but definitely not peanuts

Most people are confused just because of the word peanut and they make an assumption

A person could be allergic to perfumes and scents abound, especially in confined spaces

DamaskRose Tue 25-Jun-24 17:25:58

Grandmabatty

So your 'right' to eat nuts means someone's life is at risk? Are you saying that you couldn't find an alternative for the two or three hours in an airplane? Nut allergy is one of the most severe allergies

Exactly this.

Germanshepherdsmum Tue 25-Jun-24 17:28:57

Will restaurants stop serving anything containing nuts? They are enclosed spaces.

M0nica Tue 25-Jun-24 17:30:03

Remember that the air on a plane is recycled and if an allergen gets into the air anywhere in the plane, it can go through the air conditioning system and then be blown out over someone wth an allergy sitting some distance away.

if that person suffers from a seevere allergy, it could kill them. Is it worth killing an innocent person to eat a peanut?

Whiff Tue 25-Jun-24 17:37:16

MOnica that was what I was going to say. My son in law brought a chocolate bar with nuts in it for the plane but not allowed to eat it he was going to America. For the very reason the air is circulated so people are breathing anything in the air several times.