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Drugs & Diseases > Allergy & Immunology

Latex Allergy
Updated: Jan 08, 2016
Author: Amy J Behrman, MD; Chief Editor: Erik D Schraga, MD more...

Background
Allergy to natural rubber latex is common and serious in children and adults. Latex
is the milky fluid derived from the lactiferous cells of the rubber tree, Hevea
brasiliensis. It is composed primarily of cis -1,4-polyisoprene, a benign organic
polymer that confers most of the strength and elasticity of latex. It also contains a
large variety of sugars, lipids, nucleic acids, and highly allergenic proteins.
More than 200 polypeptides have been isolated from latex. Latex proteins vary in
their allergenic potential. Protein content varies with harvest location and
manufacturing process. Basic knowledge of the manufacturing processes aids in
understanding the medical problems related to latex exposure. [1]
Freshly harvested latex from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and South America is
treated with ammonia and other preservatives to prevent deterioration during
transport to factories. Latex is treated with antioxidants and accelerators to
strengthen the product during the manufacturing process, including carbamates,
mercaptobenzothiazoles, and thiurams, which have allergenic potential of their
own.[2, 3] It is then shaped into the desired object and vulcanized to produce
disulfide cross-linking of latex molecules.
After being dried and rinsed to reduce proteins and impurities, the product
frequently is dry-lubricated with cornstarch or talc powder. Powder particles
rapidly adsorb residual latex proteins; other proteins remain in soluble form on the
surface of finished products.
Latex is ubiquitous in modern society and particularly in health care. William
Halstead first used latex surgical gloves in 1890. Latex has been used in a myriad
of medical devices for decades. In the late 1980s, however, latex glove use in
healthcare skyrocketed, driven by efforts to reduce occupational exposure to blood-
borne pathogens, particularly human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Billions of
pairs of medical gloves are imported to the United States annually, often as
powdered, nonsterile examination gloves.
 In the 1980s and 1990s, heightened demand for latex to manufacture gloves and
other objects resulted in hundreds of new, poorly regulated latex factories in
tropical countries. The incidence of minor and serious allergic reactions to latex
began to rise rapidly among patients and health care workers (HCWs) around the
world. [4, 5, 6,7, 8] Latex sensitization can occur after skin or mucosal contact, after
peritoneal contact during surgery, and after inhalation of aerosolized particles with
adsorbed latex on their surfaces.
See All About Allergies: Be Ready for Spring, a Critical Images slideshow, to help
identify a variety of allergens and symptoms.
For related information, see Medscape's Allergy & Immunology Resource Center.
Next: Pathophysiology

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