Passengers with severe allergies?

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juggalo said:
I have seafood allergy like just to smell it's real bad will I be safe on the Amtrak overnight?!
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I have a garlic allergy, but the smell will not make me sick - only consuming it will.
Even if you are in a sleeper, you may experience the smell of seafood when passengers eat in their rooms, which happens often.
It may depend on what symptoms you experience when you smell seafood. If severe, it may be risky to travel on a long distance train where seafood is served.
 
juggalo said:
We will be in coach
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Coach would have the same issue as Sleeper as far as someone bringing some seafood to their seat and eating it there, though as far as I know there is no significant seafood available in the Cafe Menu. But that does not prevent someone from bringing their own on board.
 
juggalo said:
So what should I do greyhound????? Usually it bothers when it's cooked...
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Greyhound would be no different from Amtrak Coach since one is allowed to bring food on board to consume it.

It depends on the nature of allergic reaction and it happens at what proximity to which type of seafood. In general one has to assume that someone may consume seafood in the carriage. As to how that might affect the allergy, that you have to judge for yourself.
 
Of the times I have ridden in coach, I did see some who had cold tuna with them ... I have not encountered any cooking seafood or having hot seafood with them.

Would keeping a mask on (think Covid mask) alleviate the possibilities of someone eating seafood near you - no one will be cooking seafood in coach.
 
Any kind of hot seafood shrimp, tilapia, cold sandwichs not really a smell ... It's gonna be me and them so no one else really near me... So most likely should be ok
 
Well seeing as the only way to heat food you brought up is to get a cup of hot water from the cafe; I don't see how that'll be an issue then.
 
juggalo said:
Any kind of hot seafood shrimp, tilapia, cold sandwichs not really a smell ... It's gonna be me and them so no one else really near me... So most likely should be ok
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How many "them" in your party? Because you will have people sitting in front of you, behind you, and across the aisle from you.
 
Not food related, but the title of this thread doesn’t say food specifically, so may I bring up something I haven’t seen mentioned?

10-20% of the human population is allergic to cats (source: NIH website).

I’m one of them and cannot be around a cat for more than half an hour before my eyes start watering and nose gets stuffy. After an hour, I have trouble breathing around them.

And some people are allergic to dogs.

Amtrak allows cats and dogs on many trains. There are some exceptions, and they are not allowed in Acela First Class or Business Class on regular trains. However, they don’t seem to be restricted to one car.

No, it’s not a food allergy, and I’m extremely grateful to not have any of them, but it is highly uncomfortable.

I have no problem with pets on trains, and this has nothing to do with liking or not liking cats. It’s a physical issue.

I would like Amtrak to designate one car for pets so riders can avoid that car.

(Yes, you can move once you find you’re near a cat, but it’s not always easy—on a sold-out NEC train, for example).

I only bring this up because we mention food allergies every so often on here, but I don’t remember seeing any mention of pet allergies.
 
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Since we are including other allergies - two that I have can come into play with the train:
  1. NutraSweet (neotame, Aspartame) - I often have to check the ingredients of edibles because it is not always indicated clearly on the label that a product has this ingredient.
  2. Tobacco smoke - particularly the smoke from Pall Mall and Marlborough ... but other brands also give me problems. Just walking through a cloud of smoke at a "clean air stop" can give me an instant headache as can the lingering smoke on those who get off, smoke and then get back on and are sitting near me. At least moving to another seat, if possible, and/or avoiding the smoke cloud along with some aspirin can help mitigate the problem.
 
Mystic River Dragon said:
Not food related, but the title of this thread doesn’t say food specifically, so may I bring up something I haven’t seen mentioned?

10-20% of the human population is allergic to cats (source: NIH website).

I’m one of them and cannot be around a cat for more than half an hour before my eyes start watering and nose gets stuffy. After an hour, I have trouble breathing around them.

And some people are allergic to dogs.

Amtrak allows cats and dogs on many trains. There are some exceptions, and they are not allowed in Acela First Class or Business Class on regular trains. However, they don’t seem to be restricted to one car.

No, it’s not a food allergy, and I’m extremely grateful to not have any of them, but it is highly uncomfortable.

I have no problem with pets on trains, and this has nothing to do with liking or not liking cats. It’s a physical issue.

I would like Amtrak to designate one car for pets so riders can avoid that car.

(Yes, you can move once you find you’re near a cat, but it’s not always easy—on a sold-out NEC train, for example).

I only bring this up because we mention food allergies every so often on here, but I don’t remember seeing any mention of pet allergies.
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I share that allergy with you. I've had my eyes swell shut within 30 minutes of exposure to cats along with a runny nose and uncontrollable coughing and sneezing. I'm not anti-cat either. I just don't want to be exposed to one if I can help it especially considering what rail fares cost these days. The pet car idea is a sound one.
 
PerRock said:
Well seeing as the only way to heat food you brought up is to get a cup of hot water from the cafe; I don't see how that'll be an issue then.
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I can think of maybe someone with shrimp Cup Noodles? Or perhaps someone just boarding who brought in a tuna melt made before boarding.

The reality is that there's no guarantee of what another passenger brings on board to consume. I'm pretty sure that something patently offensive would be an issue. Anyone know what durian is? However rare it would be, there will of course be no guarantees. Now I'm not sure what could be done if there is an issue, but pitting off one passenger against another about what someone can eat when others find it objectionable or even unsafe is kind of a touchy subject. It's a public place and that's just one more thing to deal with.
 
Amtrak can't be a totally safe environment for people with severe allergies, but it is pretty well-ventilated and its not like there is a lot of food being prepared outside of the diner car.
I guess I would put it like this: if someone can go into a grocery store with a deli, or go into a mall food court, or even ride in a friend's car, then Amtrak is going to be safer than all of those places.
 
Mystic River Dragon said:
(Yes, you can move once you find you’re near a cat, but it’s not always easy—on a sold-out NEC train, for example).
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It has happened to me on an Acela in an assigned seat. Since it was sold out I had to go and find someone who would agree to switch with me (if it hadn't been sold out I would asked the conductor to help me locate a seat that would not be occupied). My seatmate with the pet apologized profusely and I told her honestly that it was Amtrak's fault for not giving me the option of either a pet-free car or specifying I could not be near a pet. So I absolutely agree there should either be a pet-free car or or a designated car for people with pets.
 
jcastallack said:
My seatmate with the pet apologized profusely and I told her honestly that it was Amtrak's fault for not giving me the option of either a pet-free car or specifying I could not be near a pet. So I absolutely agree there should either be a pet-free car or or a designated car for people with pets.
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Only problem with this would be that some pet owner would most likely sue for discrimination for being told which car to ride in and win their suit while a person suing for not having a pet-free area would lose a similar suit and we would be right back where we are now ... leaving Amtrak with a steep judgement to pay out.
 
Pet owners really don't have much in terms of protected rights. If it wasn't for Congressional pressure Amtrak might not even be carrying them. But since guide dog users do have guaranteed rights to access almost all areas under the ADA it would be virtually impossible to guarantee an animal free car even if it was kept pet free.
 
Qapla said:
Only problem with this would be that some pet owner would most likely sue for discrimination for being told which car to ride in and win their suit while a person suing for not having a pet-free area would lose a similar suit and we would be right back where we are now ... leaving Amtrak with a steep judgement to pay out.
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You're being sarcastic, right? 'Cause nobody has a right to ride in any car that they choose.
 
Mystic River Dragon said:
Not food related, but the title of this thread doesn’t say food specifically, so may I bring up something I haven’t seen mentioned?

10-20% of the human population is allergic to cats (source: NIH website).

I’m one of them and cannot be around a cat for more than half an hour before my eyes start watering and nose gets stuffy. After an hour, I have trouble breathing around them.

And some people are allergic to dogs.

Amtrak allows cats and dogs on many trains. There are some exceptions, and they are not allowed in Acela First Class or Business Class on regular trains. However, they don’t seem to be restricted to one car.

No, it’s not a food allergy, and I’m extremely grateful to not have any of them, but it is highly uncomfortable.

I have no problem with pets on trains, and this has nothing to do with liking or not liking cats. It’s a physical issue.

I would like Amtrak to designate one car for pets so riders can avoid that car.

(Yes, you can move once you find you’re near a cat, but it’s not always easy—on a sold-out NEC train, for example).

I only bring this up because we mention food allergies every so often on here, but I don’t remember seeing any mention of pet allergies.
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Yours is a prime example as to why pets should not be allowed on board public transit. The exception being those dogs that perform real tasks, i.e., seeing eye dogs.
 

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