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Title: | The strategies that peanut and nut-allergic consumers employ to remain safe when travelling abroad |
Authors: | Barnett, J Botting, N Gowland, MH Lucas, JS |
Keywords: | Food allergy;Peanut allergy;Tree nut allergy;Holiday;Travel;Airline |
Issue Date: | 2012 |
Publisher: | BioMed Central Ltd |
Citation: | Clinical and Translational Allergy, 2: 12, Jul 2012 |
Abstract: | Background: An understanding of the management strategies used by food allergic individuals is needed as a prerequisite to improving avoidance and enhancing quality of life. Travel abroad is a high risk time for severe and fatal food allergic reactions, but there is paucity of research concerning foreign travel. This study is the first to investigate the experiences of, and strategies used by peanut and tree nut allergic individuals when travelling abroad. Methods: Thirty-two adults with a clinical history of reaction to peanuts or tree nuts consistent with IgE-mediated allergy participated in a qualitative interview study. Results: Travel abroad was considered difficult with inherent risks for allergic individuals. Many participants recounted difficulties with airlines or restaurants. Inconsistency in managing allergen avoidance by airlines was a particular risk and a cause of frustration to participants. Individuals used a variety of strategies to remain safe including visiting familiar environments, limiting their activities, carrying allergy information cards in the host language, preparing their own food and staying close to medical facilities. Conclusions: Participants used a variety of allergen avoidance strategies, which were mostly extensions or modifications of the strategies that they use when eating at home or eating-out in the UK. The extended strategies reflected their recognition of enhanced risk during travel abroad. Their risk assessments and actions were generally well informed and appropriate. A need for airline policy regarding allergy to be declared and adhered to is needed, as is more research to quantify the true risks of airborne allergens in the cabin. Recommendations arising from our study are presented. |
Description: | Copyright @ 2012 Barnett et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund. |
URI: | http://www.ctajournal.com/content/2/1/12 http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/7015 |
DOI: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/2045-7022-2-12 |
ISSN: | 2045-7022 |
Appears in Collections: | Publications Computer Science Brunel OA Publishing Fund Dept of Computer Science Research Papers |
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