Latex as a Food Allergen

To the Editor: Since 1985, when the use of latex gloves by health care workers became common, 5 to 10 percent of health care workers have been sensitized to latex. 1 We report a case in which dermatitis, nasal congestion, and asthma developed in a 46-year-old periodontist on exposure to latex about five years after she began to use latex gloves routinely in her work. Her sensitivity to latex was confirmed by a radioallergosorbent test. She also had an acute reaction, which was characterized by vaginal itching, itching of the abdomen, wheezing, shortness of breath, and hypotension, when a latex-contaminated probe . . .