love island Star Jack Fowler has revealed he was rushed to hospital after experiencing a severe allergic reaction on a flight.
The reality TV star, 28, shared a video of himself using his EpiPen during an Emirates flight to Dubai. In his Instagram post, which was shared on June 17, Fowler explained that he suffered an allergic reaction after being served chicken curry containing cashews, despite allegedly informing an Emirates flight attendant that he had a severe allergy to cashews. walnuts.
“[I] I can't believe I have to post this. And I'm posting because people need to be aware of the seriousness of how serious food allergies can be and the complete negligence of @emirates airline,” he began his caption. “I recently flew with Emirates Airline and they gave me a cashew nut. I informed my flight attendant about my nut allergy twice before I was given a chicken curry. They didn't give me a menu to choose from, but instead asked me directly if I wanted chicken or fish. I opted for chicken.”
Fowler, who appeared in the fourth season of Love Island United Kingdom and was the winner of love island gamesHe claimed that he told the flight attendant that he was “severely allergic to all nuts” but was told that “there were no nuts in the chicken curry.”
“When I received the food I asked the same flight attendant again to make sure, and again she told me that it did not have nuts. Trusting my flight attendant, I started eating chicken curry. Immediately my throat closed and breathing became extremely difficult,” she wrote.
When Fowler told the flight attendant that he couldn't breathe, his friend demanded to see the in-flight food menu and discovered that the chicken curry did indeed contain cashews.
“This left me with the real possibility of dying on the plane, as I knew I needed emergency treatment immediately. They gave me five tanks of oxygen, in addition to administering my Adrenaline Pen (EpiPen). I told the flight supervisor, 'If you don't land this plane soon, I'm going to die on this plane,'” Fowler recalled, prompting the pilot to “speed up the trip.”
Once the Emirates plane landed, the reality star said he was rushed to Dubai International Airport hospital, where he received further treatment.
“What needs to happen for airlines to take food allergies seriously?” Fowler wrote, before directly criticizing Emirates in his post. “I am lucky to be able to have a platform to make so many people aware of their complete negligence. You are responsible for your passengers and their safety. Giving a passenger food that they have said TWICE will cause extreme harm is unacceptable.”
He added: “I hope all airlines and cabin crew who come across this post take note. We board their flights and rely on the cabin crew to help us have a safe flight. Be more careful”.
In addition to the lengthy caption, Fowler included a video of himself administering the EpiPen in his Instagram post. He love island The star, dressed casually in a white T-shirt, blue sweatpants and a white baseball cap, was red-faced when the EpiPen needle shot into his leg.
Another photo showed him sitting in the plane seat with an oxygen mask strapped to his face, while a pulse oximeter attached to his finger tracked his levels. A fourth image showed Fowler sitting in the airport terminal after the flight landed in Dubai, while an emergency medical technician took his blood pressure. The semi-professional footballer also included a photo of himself lying in the hospital bed, as well as a close-up of the “creamy chicken curry with cashews” he was served on the plane.
An adrenaline pen, often called an EpiPen, is a self-injectable device that delivers epinephrine, a life-saving medication used to treat severe allergic reactions, also known as anaphylaxis. According to the UNC School of Medicine, during an allergic reaction the orange tip of the EpiPen, which contains the needle, should be placed against the middle of the outer thigh at an angle perpendicular to the thigh. Push the autoinjector firmly into your leg until it “clicks,” indicating that the injection has started. Then hold it firmly in place for three seconds before removing the autoinjector from your thigh.
The independent has contacted Emirates Airlines for comment.
This is not the first time Fowler has experienced a serious allergic reaction on a flight. In 2023, the love island The star shouted at Qatar Airways after being served ice cream containing nuts. Similarly, Fowler said her throat closed up and she felt his tongue begin to swell “within seconds” of being served the food. According to his Instagram post, Fowler repeatedly reminded staff that she had a life-threatening allergy.
He also claimed that it was the second time during his flight with Qatar Airways that he had been served nuts, as he had been offered pastries with nuts after boarding the plane.
“I told Qatar Airways flight attendants five times that I had anaphylaxis to nuts (life-threatening allergy). In addition to asking me to calm down when I was served each meal, which did not contain nuts,” Fowler wrote on Instagram. “For Qatar Airways to give you nuts TWICE is a huge failure. Within seconds I couldn't breathe properly after eating the crushed pistachios under my vanilla ice cream.
“My throat closed up and I felt like my tongue was swelling. I was told vanilla ice cream was my safest option. It was not. Qatar Airways has failed in many ways. I'm very lucky. The next person might not be.”
A Qatar Airways spokesperson said: “Passenger health and safety is of utmost importance to Qatar Airways and we require all passengers with severe food allergies to notify the airline at least 48 hours before the flight with a medical information form. complete (MEDIF). according to the instructions on our website.
“The airline will work with the passenger to reduce the risk of contamination but since the flights are public an allergen-free environment is not guaranteed.
“We are aware of an issue involving a passenger who had a reaction to nuts on board and we are investigating the incident.”
