The use of natural rubber latex gloves in healthcare settings is dramatically increasing, as the threat of HIV, hepatitis B, and other infectious agents continues to rise. Reports of latex allergies among patients and workers are also increasing, according to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) bulletin, "Potential for Allergy to Natural Rubber Latex Gloves and other Natural Rubber Products."

Allergy to latex was first recognized in the late 1970s. And since then, it’s become a major health concern as more individuals continue to be impacted. Allergic reactions can affect the skin, eyes, mouth, nose, throat, lungs and heart. Symptoms range from skin rashes, redness and itching to dizziness and abdominal pain.

Latex-related allergies create a significant impact on the population. According to OSHA:

1. Up to 6 percent of the general population is allergic to latex.
2. Health care workers exposed to latex gloves or medical products containing latex are especially at risk. Between 150,000 and 1 million—8 to 12 percent—of healthcare workers are latex-sensitive.
3. Between 1988 and 1992, the Food and Drug Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services received more than 1,000 reports of adverse health effects from exposure to latex—including 15 deaths.

How Latex Gloves Contribute to Allergies
Natural latex rubber is manufactured from a variety of plants, but mainly the rubber tree, Hevea brasiliensis. The milky fluid from the tree contains various amounts of proteins which may be absorbed through the skin or inhaled and can cause allergic reactions in certain people. Latex gloves contain a number of proteins. Some of them—hevamine, hevein and rubber elongation factor—may contribute to a variety of allergic reactions.

Besides the protein factor, many latex gloves are coated with cornstarch powder to make them easier to don. Latex allergens bind to the cornstarch powder. And then when the gloves are removed, the cornstarch-laden allergenic proteins are scattered into the air. Once inhaled or transmitted through the skin, the particles of latex protein powder can cause a reaction in minutes.

Treatments and Remedies
Up to 30 percent of healthcare workers may develop contact dermatitis from latex gloves at some time, according to the Latex Allergy Committee for the American Academy of Asthma, Allergy & Immunology. Nearly 50 percent of healthcare workers with systemic latex allergy have asthma that requires medication. Patients with skin rashes can be treated with topical creams. Inhalers and other medications may be prescribed for those with asthma or other systemic latex allergies.

Once a person becomes sensitive to latex gloves, allergic reactions can be triggered in work and non-work settings. These people should wear gloves that don’t contain powder or natural rubber latex, recommends the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Those who have severe reactions to latex should wear a medical alert bracelet and even carry a self-injectable epinephrine in case of an emergency asthma attack.

DonTheGlove.com offers two varieties of latex exam gloves as well as several other types of medical gloves.