Flying on American Airlines while having a rare genetic skin condition

[JoeMorgue]

And on the other side we just bar anyone who hasn't had blood work done in the last 12 hours from flying at all. Safety is the most important thing, after all, far better to ground nine hundred million healthy than allow a single sick person to put others at risk!

Yeah if only there was some sort of "Make a judgement call when the person has obvious exterior physical symptoms and no paper work to back anything up" middle ground we could land at.

 

[TurkeysGhost]

Yeah if only there was some sort of "Make a judgement call when the person has obvious exterior physical symptoms and no paper work to back anything up" middle ground we could land at.

"not so fast Cripple-McGee, show me your papers"

 

[JoeMorgue]

"not so fast Cripple-McGee, show me your papers"

Yes. I'm saying Nazi SS Storm Troopers should force Tiny Tim off of the airplane on Christmas Eve.

 

[theprestige]

"not so fast Cripple-McGee, show me your papers"

I hear nobody has to show papers in Somalia.

 

[TurkeysGhost]

Yes. I'm saying Nazi SS Storm Troopers should force Tiny Tim off of the airplane on Christmas Eve.

No, I'm saying a well intentioned flight attendant would eject a woman and her baby who both suffer from a permanent, non-contagious medical condition off a flight because they can't pass an arbitrary test.

At some point in this country, we decided that non-experts making important decisions about the disabled based on gut-instinct was a bad idea.

 

[Vixen]

I suppose one thing to ask (I actually don't know) is whether there are any reasonably likely infectious diseases that look like ichthyosis. A woman and a child who are, to all appearances, healthy except for their skin condition, which the woman explains is ichthyosis. Does it look like something else, something more likely?

I've known people with psoraiasis and it can look alarming, but it is very characteristic of a dry skin condition (scaliness, redness, dryness). Looking at the kid in the photo it is clear the baby has this group of condition. (NB: In the medical profession psoriasis, ichthyosis and eczema are variations of similar conditions and treated similarly). It is extremely common and unlikely to be confused with 'spotty' illnesses such as measles or chickenpox.

In wikipedia they do like to find the most extreme and gory looking photos to illustrate a medical condition.

 

[Vixen]

Because, radical idea here, if someone is on the plane with condition that the "medically untrained flight crew" can't identity and all they have to go on is said passenger's (which never lie and are always factually correct) word, then maybe in some cases erring on the side of "Not flying to potential Walking Smallpox Blanket to another continent and letting them lose" might, just might, be the better overall decision in some cases because in that case we don't accidentally write the opening chapters to The Stand.

"Well we accidentally flew the Andromeda Strain from Beijing to New York and now two hemispheres have their brains leaking out of the tear ducts... but hey nobody's fee-fees got hurt" is not the better outcome in my world.

The salient word there is 'pox' - or hives, spots, corpuscles. Nothing at all to do with a dry skin condition.

 

[Vixen]

"Don't worry, it's not contagious," is probably not a claim I'd be interested in accepting from a stranger, without even any attempt at corroboration or supporting evidence.

In fact, our society is full of rules about not letting laymen assert medical truths without oversight. You don't take your partner's word that they don't have any STDs. You ask to see test results. We don't let people returning from certain parts of Africa simply declare that they're Ebola-free. We screen them. We don't let commercial food preparers decide for themselves what's clean enough. We make them wear hair nets and so forth.

Purleese. I have travelled abroad four times this year already. The first occasion I came down with an unpleasant sore throat and cough, which I blame on the flight.

Air-borne illnesses can't really be identified just by looking at someone.

You couldn't catch a retrovirus such as AIDS from simply breathing it in or sitting next to someone. You'd need to share body fluids.

 

[TurkeysGhost]

The salient word there is 'pox' - or hives, spots, corpuscles. Nothing at all to do with a dry skin condition.

That's the problem. Flight crews don't know what they are looking for. They see someone with discolored skin and think "I wonder if that's some disease".

Now you need papers from your doctor to fly domestically because some flight attendant has a bad feeling about your skin disorder, or your breathing problem, or your any other ailment you might have that is non-contagious. It's an absurd way to treat people.

 

[JoeMorgue]

No, I'm saying a well intentioned flight attendant would eject a woman and her baby who both suffer from a permanent, non-contagious medical condition off a flight because it doesn't pass an arbitrary test.

At some point in this country, we decided that non-experts making important decisions about the disabled based on gut-instinct was a bad idea.

*Shrugs* If you want to turn "Hey if you are showing symptoms carrying some sort of paperwork to show you aren't contagious" into a Nazi-esque SHOW ME YOUR PAPERS so be it.

Hell if you bring an oxygen tank or a portable dialysis machine or vials of insulin there's procedures (of varying degrees) to follow. I don't see this as any different.

 

[Vixen]

No, I'm saying a well intentioned flight attendant would eject a woman and her baby who both suffer from a permanent, non-contagious medical condition off a flight because they can't pass an arbitrary test.

At some point in this country, we decided that non-experts making important decisions about the disabled based on gut-instinct was a bad idea.

They are NOT 'well-intentioned'. It was an interfering, prejudiced, ignorant, busy-body MORON.

This poor kid is going to have to go through life meeting these repulsive characters making snap judgements based on appearance alone.

There is NOTHING well-meaning about it. It is some ******* imposing their horrid worldview onto others.

 

[TurkeysGhost]

*Shrugs* If you want to turn "Hey if you are showing symptoms carrying some sort of paperwork to show you aren't contagious" into a Nazi-esque SHOW ME YOUR PAPERS so be it.

Hell if you bring an oxygen tank or a portable dialysis machine or vials of insulin there's procedures (of varying degrees) to follow. I don't see this as any different.

All of those restrictions on medical devices are likely the result of carefully vetted company policies balancing the needs of passenger safety and accommodating the disabled. It's not some flight attendant saying "can't those oxygen tanks blow up? I saw that in a movie, it's practically a bomb. Sorry, not allowed" Some random flight attendant's personal standard is not what we want deciding how the disabled are treated in public accommodations.

"The passenger looks icky, get her out of here" is not a rigorous standard.

 

[Vixen]

That's the problem. Flight crews don't know what they are looking for. They see someone with discolored skin and think "I wonder if that's some disease".

Now you need papers from your doctor to fly domestically because some flight attendant has a bad feeling about your skin disorder, or your breathing problem, or your any other ailment you might have that is non-contagious. It's an absurd way to treat people.

They should mind their own business and just stick to serving the tea and coffee, making sure the overhead lockers are shut, your seatbelt is done up, your seat in an upright position, your laptop stowed away and the window shutters are up.

Keep your mind on your waiting, keep your eyes on the doors and keep your goofy eyes on the aisles ahead.

Let little Johnny scratch his skin raw to his heart's content.

 

[TragicMonkey]

Yeah if only there was some sort of "Make a judgement call when the person has obvious exterior physical symptoms and no paper work to back anything up" middle ground we could land at.

The judgment of most people is bad in many/most fields. Health is one of those.

You'd get stewardesses kicking people off for acne, while meningitis runs free.

 

[Belz...]

And on the other side we just bar anyone who hasn't had blood work done in the last 12 hours from flying at all. Safety is the most important thing, after all, far better to ground nine hundred million healthy than allow a single sick person to put others at risk!

That's a great idea! Mandatory blood test at the airport during the security check.

 

[Belz...]

Someone with a skin condition or smallpox?

Very unlikely to be smallpox, given that it no longer exists at large.

Yes. I'm saying Nazi SS Storm Troopers should force Tiny Tim off of the airplane on Christmas Eve.

Nonsense. The SS didn't have storm troopers. Those were in WWI.

 

[Belz...]

*Shrugs* If you want to turn "Hey if you are showing symptoms carrying some sort of paperwork to show you aren't contagious" into a Nazi-esque SHOW ME YOUR PAPERS so be it.

Look at the bright side. Once they fail to show you papers, you can throw them out the door and tell the other passengers "no papers!" and a hilarious scene will ensue.

 

[TragicMonkey]

That's a great idea! Mandatory blood test at the airport during the security check.

Still wouldn't work, not all illnesses show up in blood tests, and you can be sick and contagious with things that don't show up until later. It's basically impossible to prove that as of the present moment someone is healthy, you can only demonstrate that as of various points in the past there hadn't been any indications of illness.

 

[Belz...]

The judgment of most people is bad in many/most fields.

I'd write a lengthy post explaining why you're wrong but at the moment I'm busy sniffing glue while riding a bike and I need my other hand free so I can't type too long.

 

[Belz...]

Still wouldn't work, not all illnesses show up in blood tests, and you can be sick and contagious with things that don't show up until later. It's basically impossible to prove that as of the present moment someone is healthy, you can only demonstrate that as of various points in the past there hadn't been any indications of illness.

Right, so clearly we need a full physical at well. I'm sure it won't take more then, oh, 8 or 9 hours per passenger.