A Push To Make Flying Safer For People With Peanut Allergies

Flying presents a particular set of challenges for people with allergies to peanuts and tree nuts. Even touching an armrest with residue on it can cause someone with an allergy to go into anaphylactic shock, where the airway closes and the person is unable to breathe.

A coalition of allergy organizations – the Food Allergy Research and Education, the Asthma and Allergy Network, and The Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America – is now pushing for legislation to make traveling a bit safer. They want all airlines to carry EpiPens or other epinephrine auto-injectors that could be used to treat someone having a severe allergic reaction.

Here & Now’s Robin Young talks with Lianne Mandelbaum, the mother of a child with a peanut allergy and the founder of No Nut Traveler, about how airlines could make travel safer.

Guest

• Lianne Mandelbaum, founder of No Nut Traveler.

Copyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.