The spread of monkeypox is making many Americans suspicious and nervous. However, it also means that people with pre-existing skin conditions are the target of unnecessary fear and discrimination.
Jacqueline Nguyen knows this all too well.
She claims she was kicked off a Spirit plane after flight attendants mistook her eczema for monkey pox.
Nguyen and his wife, June, were boarded on a Spirit Airlines flight to Los Angeles. They were approached by flight attendants shortly after being seated.
“They just asked my wife and I to get off the plane and go to the jet deck,” Nguyen said in an interview with Inside Edition. “They were just like, we want to know about this rash. »
The rash the attendants were referring to was the result of an outbreak of eczema. Eczema is a skin condition that causes patches of dry, inflamed, itchy skin to develop anywhere on the body.
Nguyen suffered from this disease all his life. Spirit Airline officials assumed the rash was monkeypox.
They asked Nguyen to provide proof of his condition in the form of medical documentation. She documented the experience on her TikTok account.
In the heartbreaking video where she is reduced to tears, Nguyen explained what she and his wife were subjected to.
“They got me off the plane in front of everyone with my wife to ask me about the eczema I’ve had all my life,” she wrote.
“They asked me to provide medical documents and told my wife to watch her attitude. I have never been so humiliated in my life.
“Misinformation leads to discrimination/hostility. Anyone with a non-contagious visible skin condition anticipated this,” Nguyen captioned the post.
Other TikTokers flooded Nguyen with support.
“I’m so sorry you had to go through this,” one user commented.
“It just made me so sad; I’m so sorry ????” another user wrote.
Others dealing with skin conditions like Nguyen have expressed fear and concern that they could very well find themselves in a similar situation.
“As an adult with cystic acne, I was scared, I tried so hard to cover myself up out of fear. Sorry, this had to happen to you,” one user shared.
“I have psoriasis…the idea of this happening at an airport…how could you suddenly provide documents?” ? Like no one is wearing it,” another user commented.
In a follow-up TikTok video, Nguyen shared that she and his wife were allowed to re-board the flight after presenting a tube of his prescribed eczema cream.
However, this did not free her from the humiliation of experience or discrimination.
“As we were getting off the plane, a flight attendant was walking down the aisle and when she saw me, she quickly turned around and walked the other way, not even looking at me as if eye contact spread it,” she shared.
“It’s happened to other people who weren’t lucky enough to have something with them as ‘proof’. »
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Nguyen hopes to educate and raise awareness of the discriminatory behavior she and others with skin conditions are forced to face through her experience in the era of monkeypox.
“The REAL reason monkeypox is spreading is misinformation,” she shared in a TikTok video.
It’s unfair to assume anything about her skin, especially if you’re not the one who has to wear it every day.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango covering entertainment and news, self, love and relationships.
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