# Peanut allergies: Should extreme cases be permitted on commercial flights? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 4, 2013, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergies-should-extreme-cases-be-permitted-on-commercial-flights/675526 "2013-12-04T23:53:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergies-should-extreme-cases-be-permitted-on-commercial-flights/675526/61 "2013-12-05T18:55:18Z")
It’s getting to the point where terrorists aren’t lining their plastic-explosive undergarments with ball bearings and nails, but with goobers. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergies-should-extreme-cases-be-permitted-on-commercial-flights/675526/62 "2013-12-05T19:04:11Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **Ravenman** : > > The real comparison is the interests of the 150 versus the interests of the one/two/four/whatever small number in the traveling party with the peanut sensitive person. If that party isn’t able to travel by air, they’ll probably have to take a bus or train to their destination. No, because the “small number in the traveling party with the peanut sensitive person” is, in the vast majority of cases, zero. The probability of there being any person that sensitive to peanuts on the plane is so close to zero that it is rational to ignore it. Heck, the probability of there being anyone that sensitive anywhere in the same state as the airplane is close to zero. > [@](#): > > This is a really, really lame example to use. Asking people not to eat peanuts has zero cost associated with it. Asking people to not eat anything that’s a potential allergen isn’t even close to zero cost, because all foods are potential allergens. To all of the folks saying that the airlines should just serve pretzels instead, what then do you do about people with wheat allergies? If you’re going to ban peanuts because some people are allergic to them, then you have to ban all foods. Again, people really don’t realize just how rare peanut allergies, and especially the sorts of extreme peanut allergies that lead to this hysteria, are. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergies-should-extreme-cases-be-permitted-on-commercial-flights/675526/63 "2013-12-05T19:17:13Z")
I’m a big believer in not announcing any rules that are uneforceable. Asking a plane full of people, many of whom are not even paying attention, not to eat peanuts is a unenforceable rule. I’m also a big believer in not abiding by pointless rules. Asking a plane full of people not to eat peanuts, when there will be no negative impact for the person with the allery is silly. If the risk was really so great to the person with the allergy, they would never have survived the cab ride to the airport and the walk through the terminal. ---
**Author:** ![Emmy2635](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/919ad9/32.png) [@Emmy2635](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emmy2635)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergies-should-extreme-cases-be-permitted-on-commercial-flights/675526/64 "2013-12-05T19:32:24Z")
For my own child’s mild peanut allergy, I do think prohibiting passengers from eating their own peanut snacks is overkill. But I do appreciate peanuts not being served in my row because she could easily be cross contaminated by empty peanut bags, dirty hands, etc. In my experience, it is NOT the passengers requesting these accomodations. It is the airlines or flight attendants trying to limit their own liability by prohibiting it for everyone. ---
**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:** [December 5, 2013, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergies-should-extreme-cases-be-permitted-on-commercial-flights/675526/65 "2013-12-05T19:52:32Z")
The kid/person/passenger has just walked thru an airline terminal with countless sources of peanut and peanut like stuff - that plane is the least of their concerns. Its unreasonable (save for immediate vicinity passengers) - if the alergy is that severe, the passenger or caretakers of said passenger should understand the risk level and potential exposure - if the risk of airline travel is too great - find another way. I personally love that in the latest bag of peanuts I got on a flight - the bag contained a warning that they may have been produced in a facility that works with peanuts. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergies-should-extreme-cases-be-permitted-on-commercial-flights/675526/66 "2013-12-05T19:55:14Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Asking people to not eat anything that’s a potential allergen isn’t even close to zero cost, because all foods are potential allergens. And when those people make a request to not have something served, the airline can make their own cost-benefit analysis for each one and decide on a case-by-case basis > [@Chronos](#): > > To all of the folks saying that the airlines should just serve pretzels instead, what then do you do about people with wheat allergies? As I understand it, wheat allergies only happen when the food is eaten, not in proximity. Still, I would treat it the same way as peanut allergies if I’m mistaken > [@Chronos](#): > > If you’re going to ban peanuts because some people are allergic to them, then you have to ban all foods. False dichotomy. No need to have an all-or-nothing policy. The policy can be fluid to accommodate the realities of the present ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergies-should-extreme-cases-be-permitted-on-commercial-flights/675526/67 "2013-12-05T20:34:13Z")
A few years ago I was on a very long flight where they announced that someone with a peanut allergy was on board and they wouldn’t be serving peanuts and asked people not to eat stuff containing peanuts. I didn’t think much about it. Four hours later I was feeling a little peckish and remembered that I had some trail mix (with lots of peanuts) in my bag, so I pulled it out and grabbed a handful. After I finished it I remembered the announcement. I wasn’t knowingly defying it–I just forgot about it. Neither of the other people in my row, to whom I offered the trail mix, said anything about it either. So if they’re truly concerned about a single stray molecule of peanut essence getting into the atmosphere, just telling people once at the beginning of the flight isn’t really sufficient. They’re always going to have people who didn’t listen, don’t care, or just forget. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergies-should-extreme-cases-be-permitted-on-commercial-flights/675526/68 "2013-12-05T20:38:36Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **YogSosoth** : > > As I understand it, wheat allergies only happen when the food is eaten, not in proximity. The same is true of peanut allergies. ---
**Author:** ![Debaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergies-should-extreme-cases-be-permitted-on-commercial-flights/675526/69 "2013-12-05T20:39:02Z")
> [@DoctorJ](#): > > Four hours later I was feeling a little peckish You, sir, are worse than Hitler. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergies-should-extreme-cases-be-permitted-on-commercial-flights/675526/70 "2013-12-05T21:22:51Z")
> [@Alan\_Smithee](#): > > Since when do airlines serve peanuts anymore anyway? Southwest Airlines serves peanuts. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergies-should-extreme-cases-be-permitted-on-commercial-flights/675526/71 "2013-12-05T21:36:30Z")
> [@Debaser](#): > > You must really like peanuts, huh? > . I usually ask for pretzels when I fly SWA, actually. That’s immaterial though; the point is that the parents (or allergic person) are trying to externalize their problem and make everyone else deal with it. Like multiple people have said, they need to assess the risk appropriately and plan accordingly, not try and force the remedy of their problem onto everyone else. What do you think the response would have been in 1965 if someone had suggested that nobody on the flight smoke because their lungs had problems? They’d have been told not to fly, in all likelihood. This is no different. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergies-should-extreme-cases-be-permitted-on-commercial-flights/675526/72 "2013-12-05T21:41:41Z")
> [@Debaser](#): > > You must really like peanuts, huh? > > I’m amazed that people can’t go a few hours without eating on a flight. > > Is this true in the rest of your life as well? Do you never go through three straight hours without eating a snack? > > Eat when the plane lands. This is not about eating a few grams of peanuts. It is about subjecting an entire plane of passengers to the disruption if an emergency occurs and the plane has to make an unscheduled landing. Every Southwest Airlines plane is lousy with peanut particles; they hand out hundreds of bags of peanuts on every flight. Anyone with a severe peanut allergy is placing the travel plans of 150 passengers at risk just by boarding the plane, not to mention a significant cost to the airlines. If their allergy is so severe they cannot tolerate airborne traces of peanuts, they should avoid all modes of public travel, unless they are dressed in isolation garments and breathing apparatus. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergies-should-extreme-cases-be-permitted-on-commercial-flights/675526/73 "2013-12-05T21:44:54Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I usually ask for pretzels when I fly SWA, actually. I checked the pretzel bags on my flight; they prominently declare, “May contain traces of peanuts from processing machinery”. ---
**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:** [December 5, 2013, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergies-should-extreme-cases-be-permitted-on-commercial-flights/675526/74 "2013-12-05T21:46:24Z")
> [@Debaser](#): > > You must really like peanuts, huh? > > I’m amazed that people can’t go a few hours without eating on a flight. > > Is this true in the rest of your life as well? Do you never go through three straight hours without eating a snack? > > Eat when the plane lands. I like this post, only for future reference I’d substitute “cellphones” for “peanuts” and “jabbering” for “eating”. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergies-should-extreme-cases-be-permitted-on-commercial-flights/675526/75 "2013-12-05T22:23:25Z")
> [@psychobunny](#): > > From what I can find, reactions to inhaled peanut proteins are rare but potentially could occur. I haven’t found any deaths but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. [This](http://www.clinicalmolecularallergy.com/content/7/1/4#B40) is the best review I could find about inhalation reactions and food allergies. Thanks for the link. It does say this: _Asthma to food inhalation has been reported in non-occupational settings. Through a telephone survey, Sicherer et al [15] described patients who had adverse reactions to peanuts aboard commercial flights. In 33% of patients, the reaction was by inhalation. In the majority of patients, the symptoms were rhinorrhea and wheezing. **No anaphylaxis was reported.** _ Of course that doesn’t mean it might not have happened somewhere. But I’ll suggest that unless someone can find a case of anaphylaxis from inhalation in a non-occupational setting, then the entire cost-benefit discussion is irrelevant, because there actually isn’t a problem that needs to be solved. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergies-should-extreme-cases-be-permitted-on-commercial-flights/675526/76 "2013-12-05T22:49:06Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > If someone is so highly allergic to peanuts that exposure to extremely tiny microparticles of peanut dust (airborne or through contact) puts them at risk of anaphylaxis\*, then they should not be flying without being covered by protective gear and using a respiratory mask. > > Given how commonly airlines hand out peanuts (and passengers bring their own peanut-containing snacks on board), it is certain that such minute exposures occur all the time. Even with an unusually dedicated cabin-cleaning crew :dubious: it would likely be impossible to remove all traces. > > \*the overwhelming majority of peanut allergies are not going to be triggered by nano-quantity exposure that does not involve eating something. I can’t tell from the OP whether such a freakishly rare case is involved, or if it’s a fearful hyper-mommy who is overreacting. Quoted for emphasis. If one person is extremely sensitive to things that don’t bother other people, then that one person is the one who should take whatever precautions they need to take. They can’t go through life with a loudspeaker proclaiming “Please! No peanuts withing 100 yards of me!” Roddy ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergies-should-extreme-cases-be-permitted-on-commercial-flights/675526/77 "2013-12-05T23:05:59Z")
> [@](#): > > 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.[[22]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peanut_allergy#cite_note-Young-22) The belief that touch, smell, or simple proximity to peanut products can trigger anaphylaxis has resulted in controversial bans on all peanut products from some entire medical and school facilities. Empirical testing has discredited some reports of this type and shown others to be exaggerated. Others remain in controversy. 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.[[22]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peanut_allergy#cite_note-Young-22) Some reactions have been noted to be [psychogenic](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychogenic) in nature, the result of [conditioning](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conditioned_response) and belief rather than a true chemical reaction. **[Blinded](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_experiment), [placebo-controlled studies](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placebo-controlled_studies) by Sicherer et al. were unable to produce any reactions using the odor of peanut butter or its mere proximity.** (Bolding mine.) > **[Peanut allergy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peanut_allergy)** > > Peanut allergy is a type of food allergy to peanuts. It is different from tree nut allergies, because peanuts are legumes and not true nuts. Physical symptoms of allergic reaction can include itchiness, hives, swelling, eczema, sneezing, asthma attack, abdominal pain, drop in blood pressure, diarrhea, and cardiac arrest. Anaphylaxis may occur. Those with a history of asthma are more likely to be severely affected. > It is due to a type I hypersensitivity reaction of the immune system in suscepti... Unless you’re sitting next to me, I’m not gonna worry about eating my peanuts. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergies-should-extreme-cases-be-permitted-on-commercial-flights/675526/78 "2013-12-05T23:28:46Z")
> [@Chief\_Pedant](#): > > …I speak from a quarter century experience as an ED physician. Totally different set of nut problems. ---
**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:** [December 6, 2013, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergies-should-extreme-cases-be-permitted-on-commercial-flights/675526/79 "2013-12-06T00:24:40Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > people with extreme circumstances should use a charter airline or surface travel where they might be more isolated or have quicker access to emergency medical care. There are also medications available which can help moderate allergies. Granted, long-term use can have side effects, but use of them for a day or two for a trip is hardly “long-term” and in my opinion a wise precaution… but it seems the medical profession disagrees. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergies-should-extreme-cases-be-permitted-on-commercial-flights/675526/80 "2013-12-06T00:33:55Z")
Unless you were promised peanuts as part of your airline ticket I don’t see any argument. The airlines can serve something else instead. The airlines also requested that passengers refrain from eating peanuts, they did not demand or require it. So sort of OK, except for the short notice, which is problematic. Person should be allowed to fly and allowed to make the request, airlines should be given the option to honor the request, as well as passengers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergies-should-extreme-cases-be-permitted-on-commercial-flights/675526.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergies-should-extreme-cases-be-permitted-on-commercial-flights/675526.md?page=5)