Narrative:

A passenger had a dog labeled as service animal (poodle +- 40 lbs black) on the passenger manifest. He was sitting at xx and I had jumpseat 2L outboard. 20+ minutes into the flight I begin to feel my eyes itching and scratching. I asked if anyone had a benadryl and I begin to look for a mask so I could continue to work and minimize the allergic reaction I was experiencing. Not one mask was available onboard. The company is supposed to provide extra masks due to h1n1. While this was not a critical issue; not having masks onboard could have escalated the situation further with a passenger next to the animal who also had an allergic reaction. After finishing the breakfast service a flight attendant gave me a benadryl. However at this time my eyes were more irritated and my throat itching and scratching. The purser asked me to sit up front to stay away from the animal. A supervisor met the flight and filed a health claim. I said that I wanted to document the incident but did not want to seek medical help at the time. Should I not feel better later I would be calling back or seeing my doctor. One hour prior to arrival the customer siting at xy got up and said that she too was very allergic to the animal (she initially only mentioned to the owner and never said anything to us). The passenger said that her throat was also scratching and her eyes watering. I said that if she had mentioned that to us earlier on the flight I would have switched her to another seat in business class; away from the animal. She spoke with customer service supervisor after arrival. In an earlier flight I had a situation in economy with a comfort animal in which a passenger sitting 2 seats behind the animal had a much more serious reaction. I asked the animal owner to cover the animal. I gave the passenger a mask and moved her to the last seat in economy. I continued to monitor her as she felt better by keeping a mask on her face throughout the flight. She did not want to speak with customer service and said no report was necessary. However; this is the second incident and I feel it is necessary to document this so that the ada and FAA can take a position and advise the airlines on how to protect those who are allergic to these animals. Furthermore; on today's flights the purser and flight attendant also experienced a mild allergic reaction; but their symptoms seemed milder since they were not working near the animal. I continued to experience itching eyes even when I was seated in the front cabin. When we arrived I pointed out the dog to the supervisor and proceeded to explain the situation. She took the info and filled the claim in the domicile while I wrote a report. While the ada has introduced guidelines for these animals it is necessary to also protect our passengers and crew who are being affected by the animal dander circulating on the aircraft. Proper guidelines must be created to protect all persons traveling in an aircraft. While the ada has a position on allowing the animals free in the cabin the FAA should create guidelines to protect our passengers who are allergic as well. Today I had a milder reaction and no emergency. However; this incident could have escalated to a more serious situation with the passenger sitting next to the dog (who also experienced a milder reaction).

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A flight attendant suffered an allergic reaction to a service dog boarded in the cabin.

Narrative: A passenger had a dog labeled as service animal (poodle +- 40 lbs black) on the passenger manifest. He was sitting at XX and I had jumpseat 2L Outboard. 20+ minutes into the flight I begin to feel my eyes itching and scratching. I asked if anyone had a Benadryl and I begin to look for a mask so I could continue to work and minimize the allergic reaction I was experiencing. Not one mask was available onboard. The company is supposed to provide extra masks due to H1N1. While this was not a critical issue; not having masks onboard could have escalated the situation further with a passenger next to the animal who also had an allergic reaction. After finishing the breakfast service a Flight Attendant gave me a Benadryl. However at this time my eyes were more irritated and my throat itching and scratching. The purser asked me to sit up front to stay away from the animal. A supervisor met the flight and filed a health claim. I said that I wanted to document the incident but did not want to seek medical help at the time. Should I not feel better later I would be calling back or seeing my doctor. One hour prior to arrival the customer siting at XY got up and said that she too was very allergic to the animal (she initially only mentioned to the owner and never said anything to us). The Passenger said that her throat was also scratching and her eyes watering. I said that if she had mentioned that to us earlier on the flight I would have switched her to another seat in Business Class; away from the animal. She spoke with Customer Service Supervisor after arrival. In an earlier flight I had a situation in Economy with a comfort animal in which a passenger sitting 2 seats behind the animal had a much more serious reaction. I asked the animal owner to cover the animal. I gave the passenger a mask and moved her to the last seat in Economy. I continued to monitor her as she felt better by keeping a mask on her face throughout the flight. She did not want to speak with Customer Service and said no report was necessary. However; this is the second incident and I feel it is necessary to document this so that the ADA and FAA can take a position and advise the airlines on how to protect those who are allergic to these animals. Furthermore; on today's flights the Purser and Flight Attendant also experienced a mild allergic reaction; but their symptoms seemed milder since they were not working near the animal. I continued to experience itching eyes even when I was seated in the front cabin. When we arrived I pointed out the dog to the supervisor and proceeded to explain the situation. She took the info and filled the claim in the domicile while I wrote a report. While the ADA has introduced guidelines for these animals it is necessary to also protect our passengers and crew who are being affected by the animal dander circulating on the aircraft. Proper guidelines must be created to protect all persons traveling in an aircraft. While the ADA has a position on allowing the animals free in the cabin the FAA should create guidelines to protect our passengers who are allergic as well. Today I had a milder reaction and no emergency. However; this incident could have escalated to a more serious situation with the passenger sitting next to the dog (who also experienced a milder reaction).

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.