A woman has claimed that she was kicked off her recent flight because of her chronic eczema and said "misinformation" about monkeypox is to blame.
Jacqueline Nguyen - who has suffered from skin condition all her life - recently took to TikTok (@jacqueline.ngu) to claim that she was planning to travel with the American-based Spirit Airlines before staff assumed she had monkeypox.
The infectious disease causes spots on the skin similar to pimples, blisters, or sores, but Nguyen claims anyone with a "visible non-contagious skin condition" is now being targeted.
In a caption for her clip, TikToker wrote: "Misinformation leads to discrimination/hostility. everyone with a non-contagious skin condition has been anticipating this #monkeypox #eczema."
Check out Nguyen's TikTok below:The passenger alleged in her video that staff "interrogated" her about her skin condition and asked for her "medical documents" to prove if she had eczema.
"They had me get off the plane in front of everyone along with my wife to interrogate me about the eczema I've had my whole life," she wrote in the overlay text.
"They asked me to provide medical documents and told my wife to watch her attitude. I've never been so humiliated in my life," she added.
Nguyen commented under her video to urge Spirit Airlines to "teach their employees what monkeypox looks like before you catch hundreds of medical discrimination cases".
As of this writing, the now-viral video amassed 306.3K likes and 1.5 million views on the social media platform, attracting dozens of comments from people who fear they might receive similar treatment.
One user shared: "I have psoriasis… the idea of this happening in an airport… how would you suddenly provide documentation?? Like no one carries that."
Another commented: "They can’t just demand medical records without stating it’s a requirement prior to flying. this is gonna be a mess. sorry, you experienced this."
A third said: "I am waiting on this to happen to me. I have eczema as well and the sun actually makes me break out."
A fourth shared: "As an adult with cystic acne I have been scared, I've been trying so hard to cover up out of fear. Sorry, this had to happen to you :("
In a follow-up video shared days later, the TikToker revealed that she was eventually allowed to board the flight after showing staff a tube of her prescribed eczema cream.
According to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the global outbreak of monkeypox has officials on high alert with more than 28,000 cases confirmed worldwide.
The agency said as far as symptoms go, people with monkeypox "get a rash that may be located on or near the genitals (penis, testicles, labia, and vagina)" or "anus and could be on other areas like the hands, feet, chest, face, or mouth".
The CDC reports that those contaminated with the disease get inflammation that has an advancement of different stages until it eventually scars before healing. It also may be found on or near the genitals, hands, feet, chest, face, or mouth.
VT has reached out to Spirit Airlines for a comment.
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