Tips for families flying with food, seasonal allergies

Flying with children always involves some preparation, but flying with a child with a food allergy requires doing more prep work for a safe journey.

Here's why. Earlier this month, a family of with a 1-year-old boy with a peanut allergy was kicked off an Allegiant Airlines flight. The parents used sanitation wipes to clean their seats before sitting down, only to be informed that a medical professional told the staff it wasn't safe for them to go on the flight. They had to exit the plane.

In February, Fox News reported an incident where a young boy and his family were kicked off an Allegiant Airlines flight after the boy had an allergic reaction to a dog on the flight. According to news reports, the airline justified this action by saying they had conferred with their in-house medical consultant, who was afraid the child may have an anaphylactic reaction enroute. What was truly abhorrent was that other passengers reportedly clapped when the family was forced off the plane, demonstrating a lack of knowledge or appreciation among the general public of the real dangers of allergies.

These two incidents raise some important concerns about traveling with food allergies. For families with food allergies, is this just another thing to worry about when traveling? Will airlines refuse to allow you to fly if you have an allergy? What rights do you have as a passenger? Why wasn't the passenger with the dog not asked to leave the plane? Will actions of this airline carry over to other airlines?

Granted, we may not know all the details of the story and there may be other mitigating factors that occurred that we don't know about. But taking the story at face value, the actions of this airline defy not just evidence-based medical decision making, but common sense in general. It's absurd to kick someone off a plane for a peanut allergy or a dog allergy. Moreover, there is no reason why someone with a dog allergy or a peanut allergy cannot travel safely to their destination. And if the airline received advice from a medically trained individual, then, I really don't know what to say.

So what is the best strategy to use if you or your child is allergic and needs to get to your destination? Firstly, preparation is key. It is important if you have asthma, nasal or eye allergies, or eczema, the three major manifestations of allergic disease, that you stick to the recommended medication schedule. This means taking your maintenance medications on a regular and ongoing basis, starting long before you actually fly. Many of these medications, such as intranasal steroids or inhaled corticosteroids act preventatively as an anti-inflammatory agent. Their action takes days to weeks to appear so you can't use them for immediate relief of symptoms.

Secondly, you should also bring your rescue inhaler, oral or nasal antihistamines, or any other medications your doctor may prescribe for environmental allergies. In the case of food allergies, bring cleaning wipes to wipe down the tray tables and seat armrests. If your doctor has prescribed you an epinephrine autoinjector, it is critical that you bring this with you whenever you fly. Even though these devices contain a concealed needle, the Transportation Safety Administration will let you fly with it, as it is considered a medical life saving device.

Finally, if you are boarding an aircraft where there is a service dog, or in my case on a recent trip, a cat, sitting in close proximity, request to be reseated. You will find that contrary to what happened in the second case described above, most of our fellow passengers actually do want to help out.

For more information, Food Allergy Research and Education offers this comprehensive guide on managing food allergies when traveling which includes what you should do before your flight such as checking airline policies, the day of air travel, and traveling overseas.

Also, Kids With Food Allergies has a free webinar online, Flying with Food Allergies: Legal and Medical Concerns, that covers legal restrictions, disability issues, TSA regulations, peanut dust and inhalation studies, and how to prevent allergic reactions on airplanes.

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