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Kenneth H. Maybee
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The New Brunswick Lung Association is deeply disappointed with Air Canada's decision to allow pets in airplane cabins.

This new policy means that the thousands of New Brunswickers who suffer from a combination of allergies, asthma and/or other respiratory diseases will no longer be able to fly without being exposed to allergen. For many New Brunswickers, the risk is not worth the benefit.

Air inside airplane cabins re-circulates - it gets recycled through the vents. And airplane cabins are small spaces. This means that even a small amount of allergen - like the hair, saliva, urine or dander of a pet - can spread quickly throughout the airplane cabin. The allergen in the air can reach every passenger on the plane, even people sitting far away from the pet.

For people with allergies who have asthma or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), pet allergen can trigger wheezing, coughing, and swelling in the airways - otherwise known as an asthma attack or a COPD flare-up. These reactions can be serious and even life threatening.

Louise Steeves, an employee with the New Brunswick Lung Association, feels she can no longer travel by air.

She says it's not her allergies that bother her - she can live with itchy, watery eyes for a short time. It's the associated asthma attack that bothers her. Not being able to breathe is terribly frightening, especially when it occurs on an airplane. You can't open a window; there is nowhere to escape and breathe in fresh air.

After 30 years of trial and error with trying to control her asthma, Louise has finally found the right combination of medications (two pills and two inhalers twice daily, plus a rescue inhaler to take when needed). She spends about $300 a month to be able to breathe. However, if an asthmatic, such as Louise, is exposed to cat and/or dog allergen, all the medications in the world will not prevent an asthma attack from occurring.

Air Canada has implemented guidelines they feel will protect allergic passengers from exposure, such as allowing a maximum of four pets per flight and allowing allergic passengers to switch seats or flights (although there is no guarantee a pet hasn't been on the other plane).

This may sound reasonable to some. However, many people have misconceptions about pet allergies.

Allergen from animals is very small and tends to float in the air and spread throughout the plane. It can stay in the air for hours before settling on surfaces such as walls, draperies, upholstered furniture and carpet. It is released back into the air when disturbed and triggers asthma when inhaled hours, days, weeks or months after the fact. Allergen is also found in clothes of people exposed to pets. Some people who are allergic to animal dander will have symptoms in public places if dander has been brought in on pet owners clothes.

Animal allergens can be active up to one year, especially in small, enclosed spaces, such as an airplane. Even if a pet is not on board a particular flight, the allergens from previous flights remain and are re-circulated throughout the cabin.

Here at the New Brunswick Lung Association, we teach asthmatics that when they're experiencing an attack, they should take their rescue inhaler. If the inhaler doesn't work (which can happen during an attack), they should call 911 and wait for the ambulance to arrive.

Obviously, this is not an option for air travellers. By the time the flight lands, the person suffering the attack may already be dead. So, what do we tell those with respiratory disease who must travel?

If you have asthma or COPD and must travel, check with the airline to try to get on a pet-free flight, take your medications regularly and follow your asthma/COPD action plan. Take your rescue inhaler 20 minutes before boarding the plane. Be sure to talk to your doctor before travelling. He or she may adjust your medications for the flight. Finally, ALWAYS take your medications on board with you - never keep them in your checked baggage.

To learn more about asthma, COPD and allergies, please visit the New Brunswick Lung Association's website at www.nb.lung.ca or call 1-800-565-LUNG.

Remember, when you can't breathe, nothing else matters.

Kenneth H. Maybee is President and CEO of the New Brunswick Lung Association.