# 4-year-old went into anaphylactic shock after another passenger in a plane ate nuts 4 rows away. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 14, 2014, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-year-old-went-into-anaphylactic-shock-after-another-passenger-in-a-plane-ate-nuts-4-rows-away/695516 "2014-08-14T15:05:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-year-old-went-into-anaphylactic-shock-after-another-passenger-in-a-plane-ate-nuts-4-rows-away/695516/21 "2014-08-14T20:56:39Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > [So pick a source you like.](https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=%22Fae+Platten%22) I recognize a few as tabloids, and others I’ve never heard of. Which of these do you consider a reliable source? ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-year-old-went-into-anaphylactic-shock-after-another-passenger-in-a-plane-ate-nuts-4-rows-away/695516/22 "2014-08-14T20:58:48Z")
I heard someone on the flight bought all the peanuts to spite the kid and handed them out. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-year-old-went-into-anaphylactic-shock-after-another-passenger-in-a-plane-ate-nuts-4-rows-away/695516/23 "2014-08-14T21:15:48Z")
According to Wikipedia: > [@](#): > > While the most obvious and dangerous route for an allergic individual is unintentional ingestion, some reactions are possible through external exposure. Airborne particles in a farm- or factory-scale shelling or crushing environment, or from cooking, can produce respiratory effects in exposed allergic individuals.[25] Empirical testing has discredited some reports of this type and shown some to be exaggerated. Residue on surfaces has been known to cause minor skin rashes, though not anaphylaxis. In The Peanut Allergy Answer Book, Harvard pediatrician Michael Young characterizes this secondary contact risk to allergic individuals as rare and limited to minor symptoms.[25] Some reactions have been noted to be psychogenic in nature, the result of conditioning and belief rather than a true chemical reaction. Blinded, placebo-controlled studies by Sicherer et al. were unable to produce any reactions using the odor of peanut butter or its mere proximity.[25] From [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peanut_allergy). ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-year-old-went-into-anaphylactic-shock-after-another-passenger-in-a-plane-ate-nuts-4-rows-away/695516/24 "2014-08-14T21:23:51Z")
> [@simster](#): > > I heard someone on the flight bought all the peanuts to spite the kid and handed them out. Nicely done. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-year-old-went-into-anaphylactic-shock-after-another-passenger-in-a-plane-ate-nuts-4-rows-away/695516/25 "2014-08-14T21:51:32Z")
A well-prepared news story would have at a minimum featured an interview with a qualified medical professional (i.e. a pediatric immunologist) to discuss the risk involved in this alleged exposure and if there is significant risk, whether kids who are very sensitive to peanuts should be on commercial flights at all. But we’re talking about tabloid journalism here. A comment about whether a flight should continue for several hours after a passenger has stopped breathing during an anaphylactic attack would also have been welcome (note that a single Epi-Pen injection cannot be relied upon to have taken care of the problem). ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-year-old-went-into-anaphylactic-shock-after-another-passenger-in-a-plane-ate-nuts-4-rows-away/695516/26 "2014-08-14T21:55:25Z")
If my kid had such a life threatening allergy, I sure as hell wouldn’t be on an international commercial airline flight placing all of my trust in a few hundred strangers, many who may or may not speak the language of the instructions being made by the flight crew. I put more of the responsibility for little Fae’s allergy attack on her parents than the peanut eater 4 rows back. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-year-old-went-into-anaphylactic-shock-after-another-passenger-in-a-plane-ate-nuts-4-rows-away/695516/27 "2014-08-14T22:08:39Z")
> [@CT\_Damsel](#): > > If the airline was so concerned why did they had out nuts? Read the articles **Czarcasm** linked to. The airline did not hand out nuts, in fact they made an announcement that no one was to consume nuts on the flight. Of course, one ass hole had brought his own nuts and proceeded to open them even though the person sitting next to him warned him of the potential consequences. That ass hole was banned from flying due to failure to heed flight crew instructions. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-year-old-went-into-anaphylactic-shock-after-another-passenger-in-a-plane-ate-nuts-4-rows-away/695516/28 "2014-08-14T22:42:49Z")
I do know someone, a middle-aged woman, who has a severe enough allergy to peanuts that she knows if there are nuts in the vicinity. It’s not bad enough to cause a severe reaction (that takes ingestion or significant direct contact) but someone eating, say, a peanut butter sandwich 20 feet away will make her skin start to “prickle” and itch. But nothing more severe than that. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-year-old-went-into-anaphylactic-shock-after-another-passenger-in-a-plane-ate-nuts-4-rows-away/695516/29 "2014-08-14T22:45:52Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > I do know someone, a middle-aged woman, who has a severe enough allergy to peanuts that she knows if there are nuts in the vicinity. After years of posting on this board, I can definitely sense whether there are nuts in the vicinity. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-year-old-went-into-anaphylactic-shock-after-another-passenger-in-a-plane-ate-nuts-4-rows-away/695516/30 "2014-08-14T22:50:09Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > After years of posting on this board, I can definitely sense whether there are nuts in the vicinity. :dubious: Oddly but for real, she is a psychologist. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-year-old-went-into-anaphylactic-shock-after-another-passenger-in-a-plane-ate-nuts-4-rows-away/695516/31 "2014-08-15T00:06:39Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > I do know someone, a middle-aged woman, who has a severe enough allergy to peanuts that she knows if there are nuts in the vicinity. It’s not bad enough to cause a severe reaction (that takes ingestion or significant direct contact) but someone eating, say, a peanut butter sandwich 20 feet away will make her skin start to “prickle” and itch. But nothing more severe than that. I have a local weekend flea market I can not go to because the dust in the dust in the building makes my skin itch and my eyes turn red and swell shut … but there is something like 150 or so years worth of dust in the building [plus whatever dust is on the crap people drag in to sell.] I am not about to try and force crap to be changed just so I can go shopping there of a Sunday, I simply do not go there at all. I have seen people scream and whine and act like 2 year old brats trying to force the rest of the world to conform to their whims - and the last time it was some moronic hover-mom and her precious little snowflake and a peanut allergy. As the kid was sitting there licking a reeses peanutbutter cup wrapper. :dubious::rolleyes: [URL=“[http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/](http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/)”] ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-year-old-went-into-anaphylactic-shock-after-another-passenger-in-a-plane-ate-nuts-4-rows-away/695516/32 "2014-08-15T00:23:59Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > and the last time it was some moronic hover-mom and her precious little snowflake and a peanut allergy. As the kid was sitting there licking a reeses peanutbutter cup wrapper. :dubious::rolleyes: > [URL=“[http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/](http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/)”] Just proof it’s not _real_ peanut butter. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-year-old-went-into-anaphylactic-shock-after-another-passenger-in-a-plane-ate-nuts-4-rows-away/695516/33 "2014-08-15T00:34:38Z")
Speaking as someone who has experienced the shot of adrenalin, 50 mg of diphenhydramine, and 120 mg of solumedrol due to Eating the Wrong Thing and Meeting Mr. Anaphylaxis myself I am dubious about this this story. First, as noted, peanut dust is _everywhere_. How the _[expletive deleted]_ do these kids survive at all if peanut dust 4 rows away can kill them? And if they are THAT sensitive and MUST, for some reason, be on a commercial flight maybe, I dunno, they could be given steroids BEFORE the trip to reduce their sensitivity? Maybe? Or something? Because, as noted, every freakin’ grocery store has something with peanuts in it. Beyond that, though - while yes, the epi-pen shot (which, by the was, was released for use in the late 1970’s in the US, if I recall correctly) will often bring a person back from the brink, so to speak, it does not instantly make everything all better and normal. If her throat swelled sufficiently to truly cause her to stop breathing I question if just one shot from an epi would actually revive her without additional help like intubation. During my experience my throat did not actually swell shut, and while the epi injection _helped_ it did not restore my breathing to normal, just made things better. Now, standard practice is also to give 50 mg diphenhydramine (for an adult - you could give that to a kid, too, but they might typically use less, I don’t know) and if you inject it it will take effect much sooner than the usual pill form. This will start reducing the reaction even as the epi is wearing off… but I see nothing in this article about diphenhydrame in either shot or pill form even though it would be pretty a common/standard medication for either an allergic person to carry or to be in a first aid kit. Maybe the journalists just ignored it, but if it wasn’t given that strikes me as odd… is this neglect or maybe the reaction wasn’t actually as strong as portrayed by the parent(s)…? And, by the way - there are THREE reasons to seek medical treatment after an injection of an epi-pen. The first, of course, is because it only last a short while and if it wears off and the offending allergan hasn’t been removed the reaction could resume. The second reason is because both heart attack and stroke are possible side effects of the medication (when I reached the hospital after my little “episode” I was hooked up to a heart monitor for awhile). The third reason is because if they are improperly administered it can lead to a loss of a limb, which would of course suck immensely. T’ain’t nuthin’ to play around with, it’s serious medication. Anyhow - while I have nothing but empathy for kids with food allergies (having been one, and still having food allergies) I have to view some of their parents with great suspicion. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-year-old-went-into-anaphylactic-shock-after-another-passenger-in-a-plane-ate-nuts-4-rows-away/695516/34 "2014-08-15T01:57:54Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > I do know someone, a middle-aged woman, who has a severe enough allergy to peanuts that she knows if there are nuts in the vicinity. It’s not bad enough to cause a severe reaction (that takes ingestion or significant direct contact) but someone eating, say, a peanut butter sandwich 20 feet away will make her skin start to “prickle” and itch. But nothing more severe than that. Lots of people claim to be able to do lots of things. Whether it’s dousing or ESP or whatever, invariably their abilities do not function in carefully controlled experiments. Your acquaintance almost certainly falls in to that group due to a couple factors: (1) She will never count the times she didn’t have a reaction when people open nuts around her without her noticing. (2) Confirmation bias. Her skin starts to “prickle” and itch, she looks around, sees someone eating nuts, and concludes that was the cause. But that’s not proof. People eat nuts all the time, and there’s a decent chance that if she has a reaction someone will be eating nuts around her. That simply could be coincidence and the actual cause might be a perfume, a cleaning agent, or what ever. (3) It could be psychosomatic. She sees someone eating nuts and that makes her skin tingle simply because that’s what she believes happens when someone eats nuts around here. Until she (or someone) proves this ability in a rigorous double blind situation I am going to be dubious. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-year-old-went-into-anaphylactic-shock-after-another-passenger-in-a-plane-ate-nuts-4-rows-away/695516/35 "2014-08-15T02:40:08Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > I do know someone, a middle-aged woman, who has a severe enough allergy to peanuts that she knows if there are nuts in the vicinity. It’s not bad enough to cause a severe reaction (that takes ingestion or significant direct contact) but someone eating, say, a peanut butter sandwich 20 feet away will make her skin start to “prickle” and itch. But nothing more severe than that. A peanut butter sandwich? Really? Does that really involve the release of airborne peanut particles? (“You should see my cousin Tim eat a peanut butter sandwich!” Heyoo!) ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-year-old-went-into-anaphylactic-shock-after-another-passenger-in-a-plane-ate-nuts-4-rows-away/695516/36 "2014-08-15T02:54:56Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > The third reason is because if they are improperly administered it can lead to a loss of a limb, which would of course suck immensely. I’ve never heard of this. How would the loss of limb result? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-year-old-went-into-anaphylactic-shock-after-another-passenger-in-a-plane-ate-nuts-4-rows-away/695516/37 "2014-08-15T03:03:23Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > I’ve never heard of this. How would the loss of limb result? It’s a vasoconstrictor. > [@](#): > > Since epinephrine is a strong vasoconstrictor, accidental injection into the digits, hands or feet may result in loss of blood flow to the affected area. [http://www.rxlist.com/epipen-drug/warnings-precautions.htm](http://www.rxlist.com/epipen-drug/warnings-precautions.htm) > [@](#): > > Treatment should be directed at vasodilation in addition to further treatment of anaphylaxis (see ADVERSE REACTIONS). Advise the patient to go immediately to the nearest emergency room and to inform the healthcare provider in the emergency room of the location of the accidental injection. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-year-old-went-into-anaphylactic-shock-after-another-passenger-in-a-plane-ate-nuts-4-rows-away/695516/38 "2014-08-15T03:20:03Z")
Yep, that’s it. You get warned about it when you are taught how to use an epi-pen. Ideally, you inject into the thigh muscle. When I was having my Really Bad Evening the paramedics gave me a shot in the upper arm, in my bicep. Fortunately, no bad side effects from the shot. The shot is not a fun ride. Sort of mix of falling headfirst from three stories up and a getting kicked by a horse. You don’t actually feel an impact, of course, but you sure as hell know SOMETHING just entered your body. On the other hand, it was a hell of a lot better feeling than slowly suffocating on mucus and your own swelling flesh. ---
**Author:** ![keturah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e95f7d/32.png) [@keturah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/keturah)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-year-old-went-into-anaphylactic-shock-after-another-passenger-in-a-plane-ate-nuts-4-rows-away/695516/39 "2014-08-15T03:46:35Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Yep, that’s it. > > You get warned about it when you are taught how to use an epi-pen. Ideally, you inject into the thigh muscle. When I was having my Really Bad Evening the paramedics gave me a shot in the upper arm, in my bicep. Fortunately, no bad side effects from the shot. > > The shot is not a fun ride. Sort of mix of falling headfirst from three stories up and a getting kicked by a horse. You don’t actually feel an impact, of course, but you sure as hell know SOMETHING just entered your body. On the other hand, it was a hell of a lot better feeling than slowly suffocating on mucus and your own swelling flesh. The current protocol for epi pens is a double dose. The first is injected, 911 is called and the second 5 to 10 minutets later. They come packed in pairs now. Benadryl is always encouraged either in pill form or liquid if your airway can’t accomodate a pill. Did you ever ask why the epi pen was injected in your arm? That seems…contrary to most medical protocols. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-year-old-went-into-anaphylactic-shock-after-another-passenger-in-a-plane-ate-nuts-4-rows-away/695516/40 "2014-08-15T04:01:34Z")
It wasn’t, strictly speaking, an epi pen. It was the same or similar medication injected via syringe. As best I recall. At the time I was lying in an ambulance with the pure O2 doing about jack for me and my vision tunneling so perhaps my recollection isn’t as clear as I would like. It was definitely my arm that hurt the next day and not my thigh, though. I also recall them discussing doing a “cut-down” to get an IV started, as it was the one time in my life no one could find a vein to stick a needle in (normally, my views are all very visible, on the surface, and nigh un-collapsible but I was going into shock). My spouse recalls me saying something like “the \*\*\*\* you’re going to cut into my leg” and the paramedic said “well, if she’s still conscious we might wait”. I didn’t have an epi-pen because I had never had a reaction anywhere near that bad/violent before. In fact, I’d managed to avoid any food reactions since I was first formally diagnosed… which was, in fact, _before_ epi-pens started being handed out to patients. Being a college student with no regular doctor no one had ever mentioned it might be a good idea for me to have one or written a prescription for one. I probably only got the one shot because within 10 minutes I was wheeled into the ER and by the then diphenhydramine was kicking in. I also got a breathing treatment in there somewhere and about six hours later I walked out of the ER on my own two feet. The drugs are _amazing_ at knocking down the reaction. Of course, within 48 hours the side effects from the steroids started to kick in… that was NOT a fun week. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-year-old-went-into-anaphylactic-shock-after-another-passenger-in-a-plane-ate-nuts-4-rows-away/695516.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-year-old-went-into-anaphylactic-shock-after-another-passenger-in-a-plane-ate-nuts-4-rows-away/695516.md?page=3)