What Are Your Thoughts On This?

[Redhelen72]

Girl, 14, with nut allergy nearly died on flight after man ate peanuts

Was he in the wrong?
Is it survival of the fittest or should her parents not put her at risk by sticking her in a tin capsule?

[Smowball]

So he was told the girl had a severe nut allergy and still refused to stop eating them?? That’s awful.

[Arksided]

Gnesss... I really hope I never develop an allergy to cold sausages

You have a Dave ;-)

As for the OP Parents were foolish, but If I were sat near someone putting their health at risk even by eating peanuts, I'd stop.

[gness]

Cold sausage, Arky? Dave says even without the horseradish he’s hot stuff. ;-)

[Arksided]

That must be all that Sunny stuff he takes ;-)

[gness]

Nah....it's the Guinness, Arky....especially now since he's invested in a new pouring at home gadget.... ;-)

[New Judge]

//In that case you should never be in a car or other vehicle on the road, NJ.//

Not at all. I’ve assessed the risk (i.e. the likelihood of an adverse event and the possible outcome of it) associated with that activity and I’ve decided the risk is worth taking. I’d like everybody else to drive carefully and not under the influence of drink or drugs, but I know I cannot rely on it. I’ve factored that in to my risk assessment.

This child is too young to make such an assessment for herself and for the time being must rely on her parents doing so for her. If what her parents say is correct (i.e. that she faces the risk of death if exposed to peanuts) they cannot rely on other people behaving responsibly (in the same way as I cannot rely on other drivers doing likewise). If there was a high risk of death every time I took the road I might not do so. But there isn’t, so I am happy to take the risk.

//I would love a bag of peanuts now! I think that an allergy can go as quickly and strangely as it came....but I'm not brave enough to try it//

And do you fly in aircraft?

[Arksided]

Awe gawd you know I've always being very fond of you Gness... all the the best ;-)

[gness]

I haven’t flown for many years. Nothing to do with peanuts. I do what I can to keep myself alive and expect others to do the same if necessary. It’s less risky for me to go to a restaurant these days than it is for you to drive a car.
Quite fond of you too, Arky. :-)

[Ellipsis]

It's not just flights, is it? School must be a nightmare. I take it her fellow students give her more support every day than this one passenger on this one trip could muster.

[THECORBYLOON]

"I’ve assessed the risk (i.e. the likelihood of an adverse event and the possible outcome of it) associated with that activity and I’ve decided the risk is worth taking. I’d like everybody else to drive carefully and not under the influence of drink or drugs, but I know I cannot rely on it. I’ve factored that in to my risk assessment."

What are the specific results of this risk assessment?

[barry1010]

There are other options for people with life threatening allergies who want to holiday abroad. Train, coach, drive, sail.
What happens when the person with a severe allergy to cats is on the same flight as the person with the support cat?
Whose need takes priority?

Wouldan allergy mask be allowed on a flight? Planes can't be properly cleaned between each flight so there is always a risk of contact with an allergen

[gness]

As this is CB an aside, Corby. Were you climbing any greasy poles at the weekend...or perhaps in the stocks? :-)

[gness]

Barry, the same could happen on a coach or train.

[barry1010]

Yes, Guess, but on a coach you can open a window, ask the driver to stop and get off. On a train you can open the window, change carriage, get off at the next station

[New Judge]

//What are the specific results of this risk assessment?//

Not looked for a long time Corby. But with about 100k collisions involving injury, less than 2,000 deaths annually (and not all of them occupants of cars) among around 33 million cars on the road, the chances of me being killed or seriously injured are very remote. Far more remote, I would suggest, than the chances of the young girl in this thread being killed by peanuts.

But this isn't about me driving. I only discussed it because it was suggested that because I believe this child should not travel in an aircraft, then by that logic I shouldn't drive. The issue here is that the parents of this girl suggest she is at serious risk of death if she comes into contact with peanuts, presumably if their dust (or whatever) is airborne and a passenger aircraft is a very hazardous environment where that's concerned. If that's true, to rely on 300 or so other people acting responsibly when they are told of her predicament is very unwise. The question raised was should her parents put her at risk. I believe they should not and some bar steward deciding he is not going along with a reasonable request made by the cabin crew does not somehow absolve the parents of the responsibility to keep her safe. They should factor in the possibility that this might happen, not moan about it when it does.

[barry1010]

As I understand it, the plane circulates the air throughout the cabin which exacerbates the problem. The chap eating the peanuts was 10 rows away from the girl but the allergens were distributed by the air system.
I don't know if she would have suffered had they been sitting a similar distance apart in a restaurant, cinema, train, coach, school hall.

[roopower]

We had a boy with a severe peanut allergy in a school I worked in. Parents were made aware and asked not to send anything with peanuts as snacks or packed lunch. Sadly some people are not aware and we had peanut butter sandwiches, Snickers and other things sent in. The lad in question was so bad that had he touched the wrappper or hand that was 'contaminated' it could have killed him. We were all Epipen trained and if we left school with him, the Epipen came too. One of his worst incidences happened out of school, he went to play at his cousins who had been eating peanuts and playing on their computer the day before. The lad also played on the computer and it nearly killed him.

[barry1010]

I really feel for people with peanut allergies, peanuts are in so many foods that you wouldn't necessarily associate with nuts/peanuts. It must be very difficult.

[Kardashev]

I just think that if you know there is a known common substance out there that could make her ill or worse then the parents and latterly the girl herself have to live their life differently and not rely on the cooperation of others. If she is that sensitive perhaps a medical mask should be carried if going on a plane. We know little about the man that is being vilified but I suspect he didn't realise how sensitive the allergy was and ignored it because, lets face it, there are massive overreactions to everything these days. He's no doubt mortified at what happened. I would have cooperated personally but not everyone cares about others so much.

[New Judge]

//I just think that if you know there is a known common substance out there that could make her ill or worse then the parents and latterly the girl herself have to live their life differently and not rely on the cooperation of others.//

That sums it up absolutely perfectly and deserves BA. Far too many people live in the expectation that everyone around them will adjust to accommodate their problems and that they should make no adjustments themselves. No, it is no big deal to desist from eating peanut products for a few hours (and it would have been eight or nine hours as the flight was from Antigua). But people with life-threatening conditions simply should not rely on the co-operation of others to survive. A similar attitude was displayed throughout the pandemic. Many people expected all those around them to "keep them safe" by not approaching too closely and wearing (what were in many cases totally useless) face coverings. Ridiculous insults such as "granny killers" were thrown at those who failed to comply. It doesn't work like that. You have to assess the risks to yourself (or in this case, your children) and take appropriate action. The bottom line is this child should not fly. Unfortunate, but life's not always fair.