HELP! Leaving for trip this Friday, any suggestions?

pShan,br /
When we flew to Florida in Feb. I got the same run around by Delta. When we arrived at the airport I spoke directly with the flight attendants (not the ticketing agents). They removed the bag of peanuts from the flight and replaced it. I also did the same thing on the flight back. It seems they have more control because they are actually on the flight. They also let me preboard so I could wipe down the seats. The flight attendants seem to be a lot more understanding than anyone else. Maybe they don't want to see anything happen while they are on board. FAN also informed me that they have had no ananphylactic reactions during flights but I have since read differently. I don't know if I would give her the Zyrtec. Would it mask symptoms for a while. I don't know. I would be interested in what other people have to say. Actually my allergist said to give my daughter 1/2 a claritin before a big family dinner function so maybe it is the same idea.br /
Just remember to have multiple epipens with you. I also considered but did not do (althought two people wore them on our flight down for germ reasons because I stopped and asked them) were the masks. I don't know if you could keep it on a 17 month old though.br /
Good Luckbr /
Patti/p

pShan,/p
pI have had the same experience as Patti. People are always extremely rude until I speak with the flight attendants. They have always been courteous to me. They do not necessarily guarantee that there won't be peanut residue on the flight, but they have removed the peanut snacks in all cases for me. (I fly quite a bit to and from college.) It was actually an interested flight attendant who first informed me about United going peanut-free. One flight attendant even announced that there was someone with a PA on board, so not to eat anything with peanuts in it! /p
pGood luck!/p

pHi Shan,/p
pWe flew to Florida in May, and I had a similar experience with Southwest. The reservationist assured me when I made our flight plans that all flights would be noted as no peanut flights. But, when I got to the gate, the reservationist professed to not see anything on file regarding this! They then said they would take care of keeping peanuts off the flight. Then, I mentioned it to the flight attendant when we boarded, and she professed that the reservationist had told them nothing about the p.a., and that peanuts were already loaded on the plane. She then had them removed, and snack crackers were put on the plane as a replacement. I agree with everyone else here that the flight attendants seem to be your best ally. Be sure to make them aware as soon as possible./p
pA word of caution - even though no peanuts were served on our flights, there were leftover peanuts on the floor from other flights. For this reason, I kept my two year old on my lap the entire time. Fun, fun, fun./p
pStay Safe, Debbie/p

pHi Shan! I recognize that panic...we just flew to Connecticut and back from Texas. Joshua is 19 months old. I agree with all the others-talk with the flight attendants. They were all so nice to us. We even got to talk to 2 pilots. (We didn't have direct flights, so it was 4 planes all together) It was comforting to know that everyone knew about Joshua's allergy just in case. Joshua's doctor recommended giving him Benadryl before the flight to suppress any reaction (I asked him about it masking symptoms and he kind of looked at me like I was nuts and said it won't do that-it's going to suppress reactions). He also said that the Benedryl will hopefully make him drowsy so that he will be easier to hold in my lap and not so interested in getting on the floor where the peanut pieces may be. Best of luck-I'll be thinking about you! (We had absolutely no hint of a reaction)/p

pHi,br /
My sons and I flew on Am.West in may. The flight attendent is your best form of offense and defense. They can be alittle sensitive so be extra nice and keep them on your side. The people around us were great too.br /
We did find some on the floor... the attendent told me that if they know ahead of time they can do a better job cleaning the plane.br /
If you can take your carseat it is a little extra protection(from pn and just like a car). If you did not purchase a seat for the toddler sometimes if the plane is not full they will let you bring it anyway. It is much more safe for the child and I think the attendents realize that also.br /
Hope your trip is uneventful. God Bless Lori/p

pHi Shan and everyone,/p
pYour post will still be noticed if you had posted to the airline board, that is why we picked this board system! Starting threads on the proper board also helps reduce the work for us because people sometimes find the information they are looking for without having to contact us./p
pThis thread will be way down the list on the main discussion board soon unless there are new posts to it and it will be more difficult for others to find. I am writing this so others will realize to try to post to a board if there is one for that issue. This helps keep the information organized so others can find it easier and the information will be more helpful etc. There is good discussion on this thread which many more would have benefited from if it were posted on the proper board. Don't forget that there are new people everyday coming to PeanutAllergy.Com, we hear from many who are overjoyed at finding this site, but it takes them a long time to read all the posts and to catch up. If we can keep the information as organized as possible it helps people when they are trying to learn about a topic. Use the main discussion board when you do not see another board which your post should go on.br /
If you are unsure, be sure to post and do not worry about it, but if you know that your post belongs on a certain board please post it there, this helps everyone./p
p------------------br /
Stay Safe/p
p [email]"Chris@PeanutAllergy.Com"[/email]/p

pPatti, you wrote,/p
p"Actually my allergist said to give my daughter 1/2 a claritin before a big family dinner function so maybe it is the same idea."/p
p/p
pCould you give more details about why you would do this?/p
pThanks/p
p------------------br /
Stay Safe/p
p [email]"Chris@PeanutAllergy.Com"[/email]/p