Latex-allergy sufferers remain alert to avoid dangerous reactions

WENATCHEE - A trip to the doctor's office for a simple checkup shouldn't be all that scary. But if you're allergic to latex and don't know it, it can become terrifying.

And if you know you're allergic? Even a trip to the mall can get dicey.

But people diagnosed with latex allergies these days - including three dozen or so in North Central Washington - can still live normal lives. They just have to be more careful - much more careful - than everybody else.

That makes them luckier than their predecessors, the country's earliest cases in the 1980s. Seventeen of them died.

In those days, latex allergy was a new dilemma. You aren't born with allergies; they develop through exposure.

So it wasn't until after widespread use of natural rubber latex gloves began during the 1980s - to protect against the spread of AIDS and hepatitis - that latex allergies began showing up in increasing numbers.

"You have to have a material that protects you from the blood, and latex does that better than anything else," said Dr. Bradley Cromar, an allergist at Wenatchee Valley Clinic. "Latex is a great product. Latex has memory - you stretch it, it comes back to form. You can't have holes in your gloves, and latex is a good, durable material."

But as latex became ubiquitous in medical and dental offices and people were increasingly exposed to it, allergies began showing up.

Most of the early horror stories involved barium enemas used to detect colon cancer. The procedure involved a deflated latex balloon used to hold a catheter in place. Fifteen patients died in this country from allergic reactions that occurred during the procedure.

"That was kind of the beginning of the recognition of the seriousness of this situation," Cromar said.

Until 1979, there were no documented cases of latex allergy. Today, published estimates of people allergic to latex range dramatically, from less than 1 percent of the general population to more than 6 percent. For people who work in health care, estimates are that between 8 and 17 percent are now - or will be - allergic.

Reactions can be mild, hay-fever-like sneezing or skin rashes. But they can also be severe - throat-constricting asthma, severe swelling, anaphylactic shock, loss of consciousness or even cardiovascular collapse.

And that can happen anywhere because, these days, latex is almost everywhere. It isn't only in latex gloves, balloons and condoms. It's in chewing gum. Erasers. Drain stoppers. Rubber bands. Glue. Waterproof mascara. Silly Putty. Scratch-off lottery tickets.

It's in the mouse pad by your computer. The elastic in your underwear. The raincoat in your closet. The stamp on the letter. The headphones of your stereo. The mattress protector beneath your sheets. The bandage on your elbow. Your bicycle helmet. Your TV remote. The soles of your workout shoes. The tires on your car.

Even the road your car drives on can be a hazard. Asphalt, when combined with ground-up tires in the paving process, contains natural rubber. Someone allergic to latex can have a reaction simply because a road crew is doing some paving two blocks away.

As prevalent as latex is, though, most latex products can be replaced by alternatives, and many institutions are doing just that. Some hospitals, Cromar said, are working to become latex-free.

And many colleges, like Eastern Washington University, are switching to latex alternatives wherever possible.

"A lot of institutions of higher learning are taking a more serious look at this situation as the incidence of latex allergies increases. It is creeping up," said Barbara Skyles, director of environmental health and safety at the university.