flying with child who has food allergy

[Anonymous]

Eager to hear anyone's experience. We a re flying United and our child has nut allergies. We plan to bring our own food..medicine and clorox wipes. Any other eords if wisdom?

[Anonymous]

Call ahead and let them know before boarding if you want to limit nuts on the plane. It can be difficult.

[Anonymous]

Most airlines give out pretzels rather than peanuts these days. However you can't control what other passengers bring on the plane. To be safe I think you should rent a private jet for your flight.

[Anonymous]

Depends in the allergy. Mine has a mild allergy (hives) all over for 1-2 weeks upon ingestion. Bring Benadryl, epi jr., wipes, and your own food. We've never had an issue mid-flight but I know that the first time is harrowing.

[Anonymous]

inhaled allergy? if so, i wouldnt fly. otherwise, you can ask passengers around you to not eat nuts...to avoid the risk of touching them. of course, other passengers could be eating them and then touching say, bathrooms, etc. i mean, depends on how severe the allergy is...good luck!!

[Anonymous]

Like other pps have said, it depends on the severity of the allergy. I haven't flown United in years, but most airlines don't pass out peanuts anymore. Worth an inquiry (they might even have this issue under their FAQ).

Wipe down everything before he touches it, whoever he's traveling with shouldn't eat anything from the airlines, put him in the middle of you and whoever you are traveling with, have extra clothes/medications, depending on how old he is, don't let him touch anything in the bathrooms of the airports (lots of nut products sold at the newstands) so bring antibacterial hand gel. That's all I can think of off the top of my head.

If it is a really bad allergy like inhaled or even a severe contact allergy, I might think twice about flying.

[Anonymous]

My 15-year-old has allergies to peanuts and some other common foods. We have flown a lot her entire life, multiple times per year, domestically and internationally. I don't want to jinx it, but she has never had a problem.

In my opinion, and that of her eminent allergist, PP's are being alarmist. Always bring your own food, at least two EpiPens, and Benadryl. Wipe down the seats if they are dirty and maybe the tray table before eating. If it is a long over-water flight, ask your allergist whether you should also bring steroids. That's it.

United doesn't serve peanuts anymore, I'm pretty sure. Delta does on some flights. You can call in advance and ask them to board a different snack (Delta also serves Biscoff cookies, which are safe at least for my kid), with mixed results. Sometimes flight attendants will serve something different if you ask and they have it. Our allergist tells us not to worry even if they do serve peanuts - and that has happened, incident-free, many times.

BTW, antibacterial gel does nothing against food allergies. It is great for killing germs, but allergies are to proteins, which are unaffected by the gel. Wash hands for real, with soap and water, if your child has touched an allergen.

Oh - liquid Benadryl works fastest and you can bring it on the plane as long as it is in its original container. Just put it separately in the bin at security. Or there are generic brands of fast-melt or chewable diphenhydramine (also one type of Unisom). For international flights, I always take the rx label for the EpiPens just in case, but I have never been asked for it.

Ask anything else. We travel a lot.

[Anonymous]

I don't think PPs are being alarmists. OP gave no indication how severe the allergies are, so they were giving worst case scenarios. For instance, my nephew has pretty bad contact allergies and touching something with a trace of peanuts would cause a reaction. SIL is too nervous to fly with him at the moment because while the plane my not serve peanuts, they cannot guarantee that no passengers will bring some on and then touch something my nephew would touch.

[Anonymous]

13:05 here. My child has contact reactions, too. However, contact reactions are very, very unlikely to be life-threatening.

It is important to weigh relative risks and still teach your child to live life as fully as possible. We are very cautious about my child's food allergies, but sometimes we need to take calculated risks. For example, the risks that:

1. on an airplane that does not serve peanuts, another passenger has brought nuts.
2. That passenger touches some part of the plane that the allergic child also touches.
3. The indirect touch transfers enough protein to cause a reaction.
4. The reaction is severe enough to be life-threatening.
5. The epinephrine (which you will always carry) is ineffective.

I think the combination of these risks all materializing is statistically very low. They need to be compared with the risks of e.g., never meeting certain relatives, never experiencing another country, being taught to fear the world.

Keep in mind that there are risks in driving to the allergist's office, too. No one gets to live in a bubble, or should. I am the first to admit that food allergies significantly change how we live our lives, and there are entire counties my daughter will probably never visit (Thailand, China). We live very cautiously. But there is a difference between caution and paranoia.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the constructive replies. The fly my own private plane was pretty nasty and pretty sure that person doesn't have a child with food allergy so not sure why they are responding to this thread expect to attempt to stress out a mom who has enough stress. We see a notable allergist. Dr. Wood-he has assured us that flying is safe and he flies all the time with his own severe allergy. I have gotten a confirm that United does not use peanut and am again planning to use out own food and bring a lot of medicine. I was looking for the "we have a child with allergies" and flying hasn't been an issue or if it is..why? I am not planning on asking for a special announcement. My child, as it stands, has never had any sort of contact problem. I am thinking it would be more stressful for my child to hear this sort of announcement..so anyway..we are hoping for the best and if there is something I am missing....due tell.

[Anonymous]

I recently flew United and the pilot announced that there was a woman with a severe peanut allergy and he asked that we refrain from eating any peanut products we may have brought on board. I suspect the woman called United to tell them this beforehand.

United definitely does not give out peanuts anymore.

A phone call never hurts.