Travelling with Nut allergy sufferer

mauraf

Hi

I am taking a flight soon with a young child who has a severe nut allergy. She has to carry epipens / antihistamine on her at all times.

I have contacted the airline to try to understand what I need to do in order to get clearance to bring the epipens / antihistamine on board - and not getting too much feedback, other than to fill out a Medical form, which caters more for people who require oxygen / battery operated medical devices.
Just wonder if other people have travelled before with epipens and what they had to do before hand?

Also tried to find out if, for the duration of the flight, the staff could not serve peanuts / nuts.....This was acknowledged in my query. Wondering if anyone had any success in this regard too?

Thanks
M

coylemj

What you can and can not take through security is an airport issue, see link below....

https://www.dublinairport.com/at-the-airport/passenger-information/airport-security/hand-baggage

On asking the airline to not serve nuts during the flight, not sure if they will agree to this. Besides which, there's no guarantee that another passenger has not brought a pack of his favourite nuts onboard and he's sitting right behind you.

Sabre0001

I have been on a flight where it was announced that they would not serve nuts / asking passengers not to consume nuts on board. I think the announcement could have been made sooner / more frequently pre-takeoff, but it was something at least.

coylemj

Sabre0001 wrote: »

I have been on a flight where it was announced that they would not serve nuts / asking passengers not to consume nuts on board. I think the announcement could have been made sooner / more frequently pre-takeoff, but it was something at least.

No two airlines are the same, some are a lot more customer-friendly than others.

So, a radical suggestion........... it might be useful for the OP to say which airline you're talking about.

iamwhoiam

I carry two epipens and have flown many times with them . I put them in a zip lock bag and I put them in the tray and I have a letter from the GP stating that I need them with me . So far I have never had any bother . I was asked once what they were but once I said Epipen it was fine

ImARebel

I flew ryanair last year and an announcement was made at the start of the flight to say nuts wouldn't be served during the flight due to a passenger having a severe nut allergy

they also asked if people could be mindful of this fact as it was a very severe allergy

Now how they got this announced is another thing whether it was just a matter of saying it to staff on the day. That bit I don't know

mauraf

Many thanks all for your quick replies!
IamwhoIam - thank you - I will get the letter and medical form sorted - so will take them with me.

Re not serving nuts / peanuts on the flight - colemj - I totally get I cannot mitigate against other passengers and what they bring on board, but an announcement may build awareness that there is a passenger with airborne nut allergy - so you would have to appeal to everyones conscience...

Thanks all for your advice and suggestions!

ImARebel

I know since the kids can't have any nuts in their lunches etc I'm far less likely to pack a nut-based treat now

it's nearly habit at this stage to avoid it - they only ever have it when at home

again doesn't account for everyone, but I think people are a bit more aware of it than they used to be

witchgirl26

One of my best friends who I travel with a bit is also severely allergic. I know she contacts the airline to ask them to announce it pre-flight about her allergy but also says it as she's boarding to the cabin crew. They're usually really nice about it and there was only once ever a problem with it not being announced and the crew serving mini-bags of peanuts on the flight but that was in America.

I think most people are happy to oblige for the duration of a flight of not eating nuts if they know there's an allergy sufferer on board. Haven't ever seen anyone grumble about it.

dudara

Contact the airport first to check how security will work. The approach from iamwhoiam is probably the best way to go, but doublecheck to be sure. For instance, this is from Dublin Airport

Can I bring my medication on board the aircraft?

Yes, passengers are allowed to bring essential medication and dietary requirements in liquid form through the screening points in the quantities needed during their trip and a doctors letter or prescription is required to certify that the item is essential for travel. Additional screening may be required.

Then contact the airline. And also make sure to tell the cabin crew as you board, just in case the messsage hasn’t gotten to them somehow.

Twitter is a great way to make initial contract with organisations.

I’ve been on multiple flights where an announcement has been made, so its not an unrealistic request at all. The vast majority of people will naturally be sympathetic. Only a d*ck would put someone at risk by eating nuts in an enclosed space where there is nowhere to go.

harr

I travelled with my nephew who has a severe nut allergy and had his pens with him on the plane.
He needed a letter from his doctor and cleared with Dublin airport first.
No problems then going through security we were told to go through the special assistance gate where they took a quick look in his little bum bag he carries. We informed the cabin crew at the gate and they were expecting us ( Aer Lingus ) and made announcement on the plane for people not to open peanuts and that they would not be serving them on the flight.. all went smoothly.
The holiday in Spain itself was a little trickier but we managed. His mam had a letter typed out and it translated into Spanish so that worked to a certain extent:
Some people still don’t take a nut allergy very seriously and kind of dismiss you as being fussy.

dory

We took a kid on a school tour with Aer Lingus and they made an annoucement. One passenger ate a packet of nuts he brought and when asked not he said he didnt believe in allergies.

We did a lot of research on airborne allergies before going. It's extremely rare to have the right set of curcumstances that the proteins from the food would be put into the air in such a forceful way that it would reach your child. Could happen with steaming seafood, but hard to see how it could happen with a nut. After consulting a few doctors we realised how unlikely any issue on the plane would be so we worked away.

witchgirl26

dory wrote: »

We took a kid on a school tour with Aer Lingus and they made an annoucement. One passenger ate a packet of nuts he brought and when asked not he said he didnt believe in allergies.

We did a lot of research on airborne allergies before going. It's extremely rare to have the right set of curcumstances that the proteins from the food would be put into the air in such a forceful way that it would reach your child. Could happen with steaming seafood, but hard to see how it could happen with a nut. After consulting a few doctors we realised how unlikely any issue on the plane would be so we worked away.

Just be careful with this attitude. My friends allergy was not air-based for a long time but as she got older, it got worse. She couldn't even be in a lecture theatre where someone had opened a bag of nuts as she could feel it starting to affect her. Allergies can often heighten as people get older and develop.