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As the father of a three year old daughter who was recently diagnosed with a life-threatening peanut allergy, I fully support a ban on peanuts and food containing peanuts. While my daughter does not have an inhalation allergy, she is extremely sensitive and if she ingested even a minute particle of peanut protein, she could have a life threatening reaction. While we have epi pens and benadryl to administer in the event of such an event, those medications are only a short term response and immediate medical care is essential. As a parent, it is my job to insure she does not ingest anything that will cause a reaction and we do everything we can to create a large buffer between her and such products. That said, we have little control over the environment in an airplane. Others eating peanuts nearby or even someone having eaten a peanut on an earlier flight could create a very real problem. While we can do everything possible to clean the area in which we sit and diligently parent her while on the flight, the risk is significant. Moreover, with the number of children diagnosed with peanut allergies having tripled between 1997 and 2007 (see recent Mount Sinai study) this threat is neither extremely limited nor decreasing.
The simple fact is that a peanut allergy is life threatening and should not be compared to other intolerances or allergies that are not. Doing so is naive and bordering on ignorant. Balancing both the seriousness and scope of the threat involved against what could only be described as a petty inconvenince associated with banning peanuts and peanut products, the choice seems clear. That is, unless the peanut lobby or ill-informed airline passengers are making decisions in Washington.
I commend the DOT for being on top of this issue and urge the adoption of a final rule banning peanuts and peanut products from airplans.
As the father of a three year old daughter who was recently diagnosed with a life-threatening peanut allergy, I fully support a ban on peanuts and food containing peanuts. While my daughter does not have an inhalation allergy, she is extremely sensitive and if she ingested even a minute particle of peanut protein, she could have a life threatening reaction. While we have epi pens and benadryl to administer in the event of such an event, those medications are only a short term response and immediate medical care is essential. As a parent, it is my job to insure she does not ingest anything that will cause a reaction and we do everything we can to create a large buffer between her and such products. That said, we have little control over the environment in an airplane. Others eating peanuts nearby or even someone having eaten a peanut on an earlier flight could create a very real problem. While we can do everything possible to clean the area in which we sit and diligently parent her while on the flight, the risk is significant. Moreover, with the number of children diagnosed with peanut allergies having tripled between 1997 and 2007 (see recent Mount Sinai study) this threat is neither extremely limited nor decreasing.
The simple fact is that a peanut allergy is life threatening and should not be compared to other intolerances or allergies that are not. Doing so is naive and bordering on ignorant. Balancing both the seriousness and scope of the threat involved against what could only be described as a petty inconvenince associated with banning peanuts and peanut products, the choice seems clear. That is, unless the peanut lobby or ill-informed airline passengers are making decisions in Washington.
I commend the DOT for being on top of this issue and urge the adoption of a final rule banning peanuts and peanut products from airplans.