Articles which I have written in the past at The Gate have covered passengers with allergies — such as those who are allergic to peanuts and nuts as two of many examples — but what I encountered on a recent flight was a new allergy to me.
Allergic to Air Conditioning Aboard an Airplane?
I sat in a seat by the window as passengers boarded the airplane; and although I wore a T-shirt, I was warm — so I opened the air vent above my seat.
A woman — who was dressed in an overcoat, a scarf and a wooly hat as if the weather emulated the middle of winter — sat next to me in the middle seat; and shortly after she sat down, she asked me something in a thick accent.
“I’m sorry — what did you say?” I asked.
“Do you need vent open? I am allergic to air conditioning.”
After sitting in my seat bewildered for a couple of seconds, I grudgingly closed the vent above me as I decided to sacrifice my comfort for hers. After all, she was sitting in the middle seat; and I believe that people seated in the middle seat are already at a disadvantage in terms of comfort. She did not say please during her request; nor did she thank me once I complied — but I attributed those oversights of politeness to a possible language barrier.
Fortunately, the duration of the flight was approximately 90 minutes; so what happened was really no big deal — but I could not help but wonder if people really can be allergic to air conditioning.
An Explanation?
“People who have a sensitive nose, who’re predisposed to allergies, those with compromised immune systems and those who’re already suffering from an infection, say, common cold, are especially prone to the ill-effects of air-conditioning,” according to this article written by Aparna Karthikeyan for The Hindu which quoted H. Ganapathy, who is a doctor and consultant ear, nose and throat surgeon at Apollo Hospitals in Chennai. “The symptoms of rhinitis precipitated by air-conditioners range from blocked nose, and repeated sneezing all the way to tonsillitis, pharyngitis, sinusitis and body-ache. ‘It can affect the quality of life,’ says Dr. Ganapathy. ‘If the nose is constantly blocked, you can feel sick and irritable, and your efficiency goes down. As for children, how can they play, study or attend school comfortably? So the important thing to do is identify why the symptoms occur.’”
From a number of sources which I have researched — the excerpt you just read being only one of them — it appears that people are not necessarily allergic to the air conditioning aboard an airplane itself; but rather, that it is a contributing factor towards exacerbating other allergies and other health concerns.
Summary
I do not necessarily know how the woman who sat next to me was exactly allergic to air conditioning — or, more importantly, from what she was actually suffering…
…but for me — at that moment, anyway — the right thing to do was to do what I can to ensure that she was more comfortable; and that was despite the marginal sacrifice of my comfort for the duration of the flight.
I usually try not to engage in the practice in ending an article with questions to prompt you to engage; but I am curious: are you allergic to air conditioning aboard an airplane — or have you encountered someone who is allergic to air conditioning aboard an airplane? Is there something more to this condition of which other readers of The Gate should know?
Photograph ©2016 by Brian Cohen.
