LATEX ALLERGY INFORMATION |
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What is a Latex Allergy?
A Latex allergy is an allergy that results from an
overexposure to natural Latex rubber proteins.
People around the country are getting sick on a regular
basis but don't know why. Those who do figure out they
are sensitive, allergic or are diagnosed with a Latex allergy
don't know how to live with the illness and eventually
spend years suffering through violent reactions. People are exposed to Latex in many places and don't
even know it. Most reactions occur due to restaurants
using Latex gloves in their food prep or in the latex
rich atmosphere of a hospital or doctors' offices.
However, any product containing Latex can cause a
reaction. |
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What are the symptoms of
Latex allergies? From speaking to many
people suffering from Latex allergies, we have noticed
that Latex allergies usually progress in phases.
Initially most people will start to get skin rashes and
maybe blisters or they may start with allergic rhinitis,
or sinus inflammation. Eventually, after more exposure to
Latex, some people will have an anaphylaxis reaction
causing sudden shortness of breath and swelling. If
someone gets to this point, they will usually start to
notice many symptoms that they are not used to. Most
symptoms are listed below. If you notice that you have
many of these symptoms, consult your doctor. However,
keep in mind that many professionals in the medical
field don't know a lot about this allergy unless they
have dealt with it directly. Get multiple opinions if
you need to.
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Skin Rash |
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Vomiting |
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Diarrhea |
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Difficulty Breathing |
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Sore Joints/Muscles |
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Nausea |
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Vertigo |
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Sore Throat |
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Is there a cure for Latex
allergies? There currently is no cure for
Latex allergies. However, there are specific ways to
avoid Latex so that reactions are a rare occurrence.
Since there is no cure, and avoidance is possible, Latex
products must be regulated to make avoidance easier for
those who suffer from the illness. Follow the steps in the next question to understand how
to avoid Latex. |
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How do you prevent reactions
to Latex? Follow the steps below to avoid
reactions to Latex. |
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1. |
Eat only at restaurants that are completely Latex free.
Latex will adhere to any surface it comes in contact
with. That means not only the food, but pots, pans,
utensils, countertops and more. To sterilize a kitchen
from a Latex contamination requires about 7 days of
cleaning. |
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Remove all Latex from your work environment. If you are
showing symptoms, your employer will have to accommodate
your illness, especially since the overexposure may have
come from your work environment. |
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Avoid latex products. Some products are made using latex
and some are manufactured and processed with latex. The
key to avoidance is understanding what products contain
or are manufactured with Latex. Specifically, natural
latex is what causes allergies because it contains the
latex protein. If a product contains a mixture of
natural and synthetic latex, you still may get a
reaction from it. An example of this would be tires.
Most tires contain a mixture of natural and synthetic
latex. People with an advanced allergy to Latex any have
an anaphylaxis reaction just because of the latex
particles in the air. Check the list of Latex
contaminated products in the next question. |
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Avoid medical facilities that use Latex
products. Most people think of just the Latex
gloves. However, there are over 50,000 products
that contain Latex. |
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Click
Here to see a list of medical products
containing Latex. |
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What Latex products should
you avoid? Below are just a few of the
common products you should avoid that contain latex or
are manufactured using latex. |
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Tires |
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Rubber Balloons |
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Many Medical Products
(Click
Here for a list) |
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Cleaning Gloves |
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Tape |
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New Playgrounds with floor padding made with
recycled tires |
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Mushrooms (often picked using latex gloves) |
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Latex Gloves |
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New Cars (the new car smell) |
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Most new carpeting |
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Many new shoes |
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Rugs |
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Adhesives |
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Rubber Fitness Center Flooring |
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Premade Salad (often processed using Latex
gloves) |
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What is being done to
prevent Latex overexposures?
Unfortunately, most of the people who have the power to
make a difference don't because they don't know about
Latex allergies, think it costs too much money to make
the change, or have some sort of "political" tie to the
Latex allergy. The two main agencies that do have the
power to make a real difference are the FDA and the
Department of Health for each state. As of now very
little has been done to prevent people from getting
reactions. The goal of this site is to inform the people
who can make this change and to show that there is a
need for change. |
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What role does the FDA have
in preventing overexposures and reactions?
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One of the responsibilities of the FDA is to regulate
preprocessed foods shipped in interstate commerce in
other states. If the FDA is convinced that there is a
threat to the health of the general public by a product,
the FDA will suggest a recall to the producer of that
product. If the producer does not comply, the FDA can
seek legal action. According to the Food, Drug &
Cosmetic Act, a "contamination with filth" applies to
any food, drug, device, or cosmetic not securely
protected from dust, dirt, and, as far as may be
necessary and by all reasonable means, from all foreign
or injurious contaminations. Latex is an injurious
contamination to many people and many companies make
foods and products that are contaminated by Latex.
Hopefully, the FDA is taking steps to fix this problem. |
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What role does your state's
Health Department have in preventing overexposures and
reactions?
One of the roles of the Health Department in each state
is the education of food workers and the general public
and the routine inspection of food service operations
that are under the jurisdiction of the Department of
Health. This is the first place where change should take
place. The use of Latex gloves should be banned from all
food service in each state. Arizona, Oregon, and Rhode
Island have already banned Latex gloves from food
service in their state. In these states, any
establishment or restaurant using Latex gloves to
prepare their food is fined. Making this law in each
state would do nothing but benefit the local government
because they have something else to collect fines on.
Data collected from the petition and stories web pages
on this site will be used towards making this law in
each state. Contact your state's Department of Health to
find out why this is not in effect. We would be glad to
assist in any way possible. |
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What will happen if Latex
use is not regulated? We don't
fully understand why some people acquire latex allergies and
others don't. We do know that overexposure to natural
Latex plays a large role. If overexposure is the main
factor, there will be a lot of people in the future who
will begin to suffer through the symptoms of Latex
allergies. |
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More information, resources
and links for Latex allergies:
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Below are a bunch of links and resources that show
extensive proof that most influential government
agencies know there is a large problem with Latex
allergies. But, why has no real action been taken to
prevent reactions? |
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Center for Disease Control has a warning about
the overexposure to natural Latex.
Unfortunately, the CDC cannot create or enforce
any restrictions
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/97-135/ |
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Restricting Latex Glove Use in Food Service in
Oregon:
www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/ac/03/slides/3977s1_Heumann.ppt
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Food handler latex glove use prohibition in
Arizona, found on the FDA site. Arizona is
another Latex free state:
http://www.fda.gov/OHRMS/DOCKETS/AC/03/slides/3977s2_Herrington.ppt |
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A comprehensive overview of symptoms, causes,
risk factors, diagnosis, treatment and
prevention from the Mayo Clinic:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/latex-allergy/DS00621
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An informational resource from OSHA offering
safety standards, hazard recognition guidelines
for the workplace and possible solutions:
http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/latexallergy
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Overview of symptoms, types of reactions,
diagnosis and treatment form the Cleveland
Clinic. Includes detailed information about
avoidance in public and in the home:
http://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases_conditions/hic_Latex_Allergy
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Arizona Department of Health Services Food
handling policies. View their laws on the use of
latex in food prep on pages 45 and 51:
www.latexallergyinfo.com/fc2000.pdf |
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The Rhode Island Department of Health Site.
Rhode Island is also Latex free. They have a
Latex awareness week!
http://www.health.ri.gov/publications/factsheets/FoodNoBareHandContact.pdf |
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American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology:
http://www.aaaai.org/patients/publicedmat/tips/latexallergy.stm |
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American Latex Allergy Association:
http://www.latexallergyresources.org/ |
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Federal Hazardous Substances Act created by the
Consumer Product Safety Commission. This
document details their definition of a hazardous
substance, yet they don't recognize Latex as a
hazardous substance. See for yourself:
http://www.latexallergyinfo.com/HazardousSubstances.pdf |
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An article by the New York Times explaining
Latex allergies:
http://www.latexallergyinfo.com/Latex
NY TImes Article.pdf |
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A docket sent to the FDA by the The National
Latex Allergy Network (ELASTIC Inc.):
http://www.latexallergyinfo.com/FDADocket.pdf |
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Wisconsin appellate court awards healthcare
worker $1 million for pain and suffering from a
Latex allergy:
http://library.findlaw.com/2000/Aug/1/127714.html
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http://pathology.jhu.edu/pancreas/MDC/index.php
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http://www.basicknowledge101.com/subjects/physicalhealth.html
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https://www.physiciansjobsplus.com/jobs/the-wilmer-eye-institute-at-johns-hopkins-baltimore-maryland-21287-539124-cd
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https://www.marieclaire.com/health-fitness/advice/a2746/womens-health-mistakes/
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http://www.bermuda-online.org/emails2011to2006.htm
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http://renaloo.com/actualites2/les-dernieres-actualites-liste/387-trois-transplantations-renales-de-donneurs-vivants-realisees-en-parallele
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https://pages.jh.edu/~gazette/2003/15dec03/15super.html
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https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2005/05_19_05.html
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