Rubber materials latex allergy

LM Barclay. Developments in low protein prevulcanized latex materials. In Latex Protein Allergy The Latest Position. Brickendonbury, United Kingdom Crain Communications Ltd, Rubber Consultants, 1995, pp. 41-53. 

Gloves of polymer materials are necessary for use in the treatment of patients and by those employees with known allergy to latex proteins. Such gloves reduce the risk of contact dermatitis caused by rubber additives and contact urticaria caused by latex proteins. Gloves of polymer materials are also necessary for use by those employees with a known allergy to chromate in leather gloves. 

In addition to skin-prick testing, Wilkinson and Beck used ammoniated latex for diagnosing delayed-type allergy to NRL. Of 822 patients, 16 (1.9%) demonstrated positive cutaneous reactions to latex. Six were SPT-positive, five were both SPT and patch-test positive and five were only patch-test positive. Patch testing with latex will be an important methodology in the future in diagnosing delayed-type eczematous reactions to NRL, but proper test materials not containing rubber chemicals are first needed (Wilkinson and Beck 1996). 

These allergy risk ingredients could include proteins in natural rubber (e.g., latex gloves) or the vulcanization accelerators used to cure or cross-link the polymer materials used in CPCs or other manufacturing process additives. The accelerators/cross-linkers are not limited to natural rubber. 

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