A mum has revealed her children’s terror as she suffered an allergic reaction to another passenger’s cashew nuts onboard a plane.
Em Lee says her kids were left fearing she would die after she apparently accidentally touched or inhaled "leftover nut residue".
Despite not eating any nuts herself, she says she seemingly reacted to residue left on her plane seat or tray by a previous passenger.
Her reaction – although "minor" – left her children traumatised.
Em Lee, who has a "life-threatening" airborne allergy, says the panicked youngsters believed she would die on the flight.
This is despite her "calmly reassuring them the whole time".
She is now calling on passengers to avoid bringing nuts on planes – and to stop supporting the onboard sale of such products.
The mum, who lives in Australia, took to Facebook to share pictures of what she believes was an allergic reaction to the "nut residue".
She explained that the images were taken after medication had been administered, and wrote: "This is what I would consider minor".
But she reminded users of how dangerous nut products can be to some – such as a former ITV producer who went into cardiac arrest after suffering a catastrophic allergic reaction in Budapest in 2014.
"Having a life threatening airborne allergy is like boarding a plane and enduring the whole flight with a person holding a loaded gun to your head. It is horrible," Em wrote in an accompanying post.
"This also affects my children emotionally in a huge way. They were so traumatised thinking I would die on last night’s plane, despite me calmly reassuring them the whole time. They are terrified."
The mum acknowledged that, statistically, the number of people who have life-threatening reactions to an allergen’s smell is "very small".
But she said: "If we could at least try to reduce the number of airborne allergens served or present in confined spaces, it would be an awesome step forward."
She added: "Long haul flights are the worst, where I need to carry my own tracheostomy kit in case I need to perform my own surgical airway.
"There aren’t too many airborne allergens that are this severe/life threatening, and also common. I wish there was a way to avoid it to at least some degree.
"Of course I can and do avoid environments where nuts are present, and there are usually hospitals and paramedics with appropriate medication if required available.
"Being in the air is a completely different ball game."
Em, thought to have two young daughters, had been travelling on a domestic flight on Monday when she suffered the reaction.
In her post, she urged other passengers to avoid bringing nuts on planes – or purchasing them during their journeys.
She said: "Be supportive of those living with this.
"It truly is an insanely traumatic thing to live with!"
She added that she hopes that, one day, airlines will stop serving nuts altogether to "reduce the risk" of such reactions.
Em’s mum, Raylene Joyce, shared her daughter’s post, saying her heart "skips a beat" whenever she tells her she’s going out for food.
She wrote "As a mother who has a child with such a life-threatening allergy life is always extremely stressful, but at least when she was a child I was in control of where she went and what she did…
"And even though I wrapped her in as much cotton wool as possible, still there were emergency trips to the hospital…
"I remember a time when peanut butter was allowed in school and she was often chased around the school playground by a bully with a sandwich, running for her life… until I pulled her out of that school.
"My heart skips a beat whenever she announces she’s going out for dinner or any other social gathering where there might be food… and when she decides to travel somewhere I hold my breath until she returns home safely."
Nut residue can have potentially devastating consequences.
And while the air on planes may have been filtered, it is repeatedly recycled and recirculated through the aircraft’s cabins.
The parents of Amy May Shead – who was exposed to nut traces in the Hungarian capital four years ago – are among those who have called for airlines to stop serving or carrying nut products.
Their 30-year-old daughter has been left paralysed and brain damaged after she took just one bite of food she had been assured was free from nuts while on holiday with pals.
Em Lee’s tips for allergy sufferers
In her Facebook post, Em offered a number of tips for people suffering from life-threatening airborne allergies.
These included:
- Taking antihistamines before and during flights
- Packing at least 3 Epipens
- Advising airlines of your allergy in advance and documenting who you spoke to
- Asking the flight crew to request that passengers avoid eating nuts during the flight
- Asking the crew not to serve nuts on the plane
- Wiping down the seat and tray in front of you with disposable antibacterial wipes (ask a partner or crew member to do this if possible)
- Packing a dust/gas mask
- Packing an ’emergency kit’ for the plane including medication
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