BellaOnline Forums Health and Fitness Allergies & Colds Latex--harmless or harmful?

Latex is another one of those seemingly innocuous products in our homes and workplaces. Widespread use of the material (I suspect because it's cheap) has lead to a dramatic rise in the number of people experiencing allergic reactions to it. Health-care workers with hay fever have the highest risk of developing latex allergy because they are constantly exposed to it. Even non-health-care workers can develop latex allergy because it's in so many products. Non-latex products are now starting to replace latex ones because of the epidemic of latex allergy. Find out more about latex allergy and what products contain it by reading "Latex---friend or foe?" atBellaOnline ALERT: Raw URLs are not allowed in these forums for security reasons. Please use UBB code. If you don't know how to do UBB code just post here for help - we will help out!

I have not had a blood test but I do write down latex allergy on forms I fill out at Drs offices.

At this OB/GYN clinic I went to for many years they gave you the test items to bring downstairs to the lab and I could not carry the packaging and asked them to put in paper bag. My face and hands broke out one time so bad from holding the bag with the lab contents.

I suffer with severe eczema as well.

Thank you for sharing your experience. I don't have this particular type of allergy but I have a friend who does, and she could completely emphathize with you.

We were involved in a workplace stretching class where we were going to use latex exercise bands to do some shoulder and neck strengthening exercises. As soon as the latex bands were passed out, I could see by her face that something was wrong. She wouldn't even touch the band or the paper that the band had touched. I had no idea she had latex allergy before that. I felt so bad for her that she couldn't participate in the exercises. If only there had been a latex-free band available for her.

This just points out how widespread this allergy is and how important it is to ask the "Do you have latex allergy" question, even in an exercise class.