A Positive Outlook and Determination Help Teenager Overcome Asthma and Beat the Odds
AAFA Community Services
What's New with AAFA
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Blog Post Comment❤️Dogs are everywhere now. In restaurants, they are on the patio. They are in grocery stores, in carts, no less. Where is the Allergic Asthma Lobby? There was a Group that got peanuts removed from some airlines. What about those of us that could go into a massive asthma attack due to dander. Oh, and I love telling people there are no such thing as hypoallergenic animals. They don't like hearing that at all.
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Blog Post Comment❤️I personally have a hard time with people bringing their "service animals" into the grocery store. What about public health standards for the rest of us? And I agree, that there should be an area on planes, trains and buses for those of us who need a pet free space. Cat dander, dog fur, dog smells etc. are all an irritant to someone with asthma and allergies. Even after the pets leave their evidence remains long after.
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Blog Post Comment❤️I think this is a great topic, and National Healthy School Days is a great way to educate children, parents, teachers, and the community on asthma and allergies. I think it would be worth noting the studies on second-hand dander and how it significantly affects children with asthma and allergies in schools (i.e. the study thst shows the more cat owners in classroom there are, the worse prognosis with kids with allergies and asthma). I think having individual lockers outside classrooms for...
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Blog Post CommentIronmom316, that us not cool I have seen dogs in my allergist office waitingvroom that are service dogs and I am like(to staff)--this is an allergist office waiting room and they wete like, well you can wait outside (to me). I went to a different allergist after that. If you cannot get a policy addressed correctly, switching out is always an option. I am super-allergic to dander and it developed into a serious chronic allergic disease after regularly being around dander that caused danage to...
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Blog Post Comment❤️Thank you so much for advocating for asthma/allergy sufferers regarding animals on planes. People with pets do not seem to realize that it is a matter of life or death for an allergy sufferer, like me, to be exposed to pet dander. Please let me know how I may help with this effort. Also, I had to cancel my plans to two family weddings this past year, sadly, because the hotels offering accommodations for the wedding guests, as well as other hotels in the same towns, had "pet friendly"...
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Blog Post Comment❤️Re: DOT Proposes New Rules for Animals on Planes
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Blog Post Comment❤️Oh my gosh YES !!! Travelling with Asthma... Animals checked onto planes have "bumped" me off intercontinental flights a number of times (even if I had reserved my ticket weeks or months before the animal owner!), as I don't want to have an acute asthma attack half-way across the Atlantic. I could easily die. To add insult to injury, no compensation has ever been forthcoming from the airline for a hotel when the next flight was the next day..... If airlines require animal owners to submit...
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Blog Post CommentI just want to thank the AAFA for their advocacy regarding the pet dander issue. I have allergic asthma and highly allergic to cat, dog, and horse dander. So much so, that my immunologist prescribed me an EpiPen after my allergy test results were revealed. Also, a few years ago, after being exposed in an airplane cabin to a dog that was shaking and being bounced around on someone's lap, I had to stop flying to the East Coast to avoid the dog dander allergen that triggers my asthma.
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Blog Post Comment❤️Wow, I was quite surprised and over joyed to have an advocate for those of us who have allergic asthma triggered by dog and other pet dander. Traveling has become quite difficult the last several years due to the direct contact with allergens that trigger sinus infections and asthma. Thank you so much.
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Blog Post CommentMe too, been unable to fly from the west coast to the east coast since I had a terrible allergy/asthma attack on a plane flight in 2011. The attack was triggered by a dog (dander) in the cabin that was near the on board restroom I has to use.
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Blog Post Comment❤️💯This is why companies of a business for mass people I have said like hotels Uber Lyft Taxi Planes This is example about Uber's (Btw nothing against this guy so don't every want these people to get introubke and Amit not just them it's tooons of people, there needs to be law for boundary about air and containimant air in public spaces aka place of business) These places are not pet stores. This puppy is sooooo cute and sweet but that is why it is ignored But I see and cannot filter my Uber...
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Blog Post Comment❤️I have to say that I am very disappointed by the response by AAFA.. It is not enough to simple be "distanced" from an animal on the plane, In addition to the danger of being subjected to animal hair and dander on seats and carpets, these dangers are also circulated through the aircraft ventilation system, thus making distancing ineffective. We are not just in danger from the current flight we are boarding but the multiple, previous flights that have accommodated animals.Planes are being...
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Blog Post CommentHi Dawn, I am sorry you were disappointed in our response. We are continuing to work with the DOT as part of a disability working group and agree that all passengers have a right to safe travel. It is incredibly challenging to accommodate multiple disabilities on an aircraft, but we feel that this rule will significantly reduce the fraudulent use of emotional support animals. We will continue to engage with the DOT to ensure equal accommodation for the asthma and allergy community. Best...
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Blog Post CommentYes, Dawn is right. I know it seems easier to claim distance will help but dog dander is sooooo airborne and light and accumulates. I wouldn't be able to go on a plane with a dog on board.
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Blog Post CommentI think it is ridiculous and insolent that our rescue inhalers were changed from cold-blast to HFAs over a decade ago to "prevent CFCs" from entering the atmosphere. Now, our rescue inhalers are being potentially attacked again, while the most obvious and gargantuan polluters, the military and the agricultural and oil industries, are allowed to continue their practices on a global scale. The diminutive puffs from inhalers, most of which end up inside of our lungs, represent but a tiny...
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Blog Post CommentTouching a dog or cat--or even being near a cat outside-- causes my skin to break out in hives and worsens many asthma. There is dander in places I am unaware of, and exposed skin on my chest is typically always irritated. I wish people would stop bringing their dogs into stores, it is very stressful for me as is, but when I have to wait in line with a person with an animal I am highly allergic to... Honestly, I leave the store. And it ius not fair because I need to grocery shop, and it ius...
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File Comment❤️Thank you Jen!! I am allergic to a variety of tress and grasses that grow in Arkansas. They are year around trees. Pollen, mold and dust peak high for me. My main issues is voiding a flare of Asthma attack. Strong smells, or any above, smoke etc can cause be to have an attack. Not allergic to pet dander.. Yea! I do have a hypo-allergic puppy! Maltice Yorkie Mix.. , Humidity is hard, flowers blooming difficult. We owed a large poultry operation for years. I was out doors all the time.
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File CommentSo glad that your asthma is not triggered by dander allergies! What things do trigger your asthma? What do people say when they find out you have asthma? We have a new discussion going on ... " What do people say when they hear you have asthma? " What tips would you share about how to talk with people about asthma?
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Blog Post CommentThank you for this news. We must hold the airlines responsible for or safety and rights while traveling. I also have suffered from acute asthma since birth. I can no longer travel by air and have lost all rights due to the allowance of ESA on flights. I understand the rights of American with disabilities and the need for service animals This is a totally different issue. The last time I was on a flight, I heard a meow coming from a womans shoulder bag. She had a cat that was not seen. I can...
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Blog Post Comment❤️No. You shouldn't. It is basically abuse to the allergic person. I have been the allergic person and it got so bad that after chronic exposure even doing all the strategies above and with antihistamines I developed asthma symtoms and shortly after went to the hospital because I thought I was having an asthma atrack turns out it was a heart attack caused by allergic blood cells called eosinophils surrounding my heart and choking it. I was diagnosed with a severe chronic allergic disease. My...
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Blog Post Comment❤️Since when do pets take precedence over the health of humans? This is discrimination and is illegal. The Americans with Disabilities Act needs to be revised to address this discriminatory situation. Persons advocating for persons with asthma &/or allergies should call and/or write to: Civil Rights Division of US Dept of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20530 USA, phone: 1-202-514-4609 and give them your story/case (asthma and/or allergy situation). Important to stress...
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Blog Post Comment❤️Kathy P - Please feel free to use my comments below. I am being excluded, which is discriminatory and illegal, by being unable to travel on trains, planes and unable to go to airline terminals, hotels/motels, buildings, hospitals, nursing homes, hospitals, etc. because I cannot be where dog/pets have been in the past year due to my allergy to dog/pet dander. This is a direct threat to my health by limiting my major life activity of breathing due to forcing me, in these enclosed areas, to...
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Blog Post Comment❤️I am working in my state to get a bill introduced on behalf of those of us with life-threatening asthma, allergies and anaphylaxis in regards to this ubiquitous problem of fake service pets, "emotional support" dogs and just general entitlement of pet owners bringing pets into nearly every public building and store. Those of us with dander-sensitive disabilities have been suffering in silence, are being pushed out of our communities and have been ignored, treated rudely and unheard while the...
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Blog Post CommentHi, I've had allergies since age three and asthma since age 14, after a severe case of bronchitis. The animal dander reactions became increasingly severe to the point of being life-threatening by age 15. I also have food sensitivities and a food and drug allergy, but it is the dander allergy that poses the greatest threat, as our society is so hostile towards anyone who points out that people need to come before dogs.
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Blog Post CommentI'm really sorry to hear about your family's allergies and asthma, as well. It is so scary, especially with children. We have multiple family members with various allergies and four that have/had life-threatening asthmatic reactions to dander. I am here to try to find other like-minded sufferers to help us mobilize a legal effort to put a stop to this out of control problem of dogs and other animals in public buildings, stores and on public transportation. It seems like the dander issue is...
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Blog Post Comment❤️Definitely interested! There is an enormous amount of misinformation being disseminated about animal dander allergies, and appropriate treatment for asthma and allergies. There is a lot of work that can and should be done to help people understand the facts and the fair treatment of persons affected by these conditions.
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Blog Post Comment❤️I contacted Amtrak through their website with an electronic message option in October 2018. I received no reply when I inquired about how they are accommodating passengers with dog/cat allergies and allergy induced asthma. It appears that the travel industry as a whole is putting profits before public health and safety. Also, I don't understand why the travel industry is not subject to make accommodations for a breathing disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act. I had an allergic...
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Blog Post Comment❤️I haven't been able to fly since 2011. I contacted the ACLU and they declined to take on the issue of pets being allowed on planes and trains without even the ADA standards in place to protect those of us with dander-sensitive asthma and allergies. It is very unjust how profits are being put before life and death health issues.
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Blog Post Comment❤️The bill in my state passed in the House Committee. If it is voted to pass in the House, it will move to the Senate. It is a long process, but you have to begin by contacting your local House of Representatives rep for your area. Explain to him or her why a bill in your state is needed and ask him or her to look at examples of other states who are tightening up on the misrepresentation of pets as "service animals".
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Blog Post Comment❤️Unfortunately, the American Civil Liberties Union will not intervene in this matter with public transportation. The number you provided is a great course of action as is local state action.
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Blog Post Comment❤️I totally agree with you. The problem is becoming out of control. I have tried reaching out to both the federal and state government to have action taken to revise ADA or put laws into place protecting those with animal allergies. I'm told that the issues aren't "on their agendas". I've been told that I need to make a groundswell to get the government to listen. Any ideas would be welcome. The Department of Justice wasn't very helpful, telling me to take up my issues with my state...
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Blog Post CommentMy state passed a bill making it a misdemeanor to misrepresent a pet as a service animal. Unfortunately, the law is nearly impossible to enforce since there are so many limitations on what can be asked to prove the animal is a service animal. Most businesses don't know the laws so they don't bother to ask. Many people continue to lie if they are asked because they know they don't have to provide any proof. I have requested to my State representatives that the ADA be strengthened so that...