Biomaterial Database

Latex allergy: who, what, when, where, why, and how. 1995

K P Bensky

Patients with an allergy to latex are being encountered more often by healthcare providers than ever before in the past. Latex allergy is also common among healthcare providers. This article will describe who, what, when, where, why and how to deal with these patients and colleagues. Latex allergy can be as minor as a rash on the hands or as life threatening as an anaphylactoid reaction. Healthcare in a latex-free environment is necessary when providing care for these patients. Therefore, it is necessary to remove all latex products from the area where care will be provided. It may also be beneficial to pretreat the patient with steroids and other medications. The best prevention for an allergic reaction to latex is to take a thorough history for every patient before providing care.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D006967	Hypersensitivity	Altered reactivity to an antigen, which can result in pathologic reactions upon subsequent exposure to that particular antigen.	Allergy,Allergic Reaction,Allergic Reactions,Allergies,Hypersensitivities,Reaction, Allergic,Reactions, Allergic
D007840	Latex	A milky, product excreted from the latex canals of a variety of plant species that contain cauotchouc. Latex is composed of 25-35% caoutchouc, 60-75% water, 2% protein, 2% resin, 1.5% sugar & 1% ash. RUBBER is made by the removal of water from latex.(From Concise Encyclopedia Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 3rd ed). Hevein proteins are responsible for LATEX HYPERSENSITIVITY. Latexes are used as inert vehicles to carry antibodies or antigens in LATEX FIXATION TESTS.	Latices,Latice
D009719	Nurse Anesthetists	Professional nurses who have completed postgraduate training in the administration of anesthetics.	Anesthetist, Nurse,Anesthetists, Nurse,Nurse Anesthetist
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D017410	Practice Guidelines as Topic	Works about directions or principles presenting current or future rules of policy for assisting health care practitioners in patient care decisions regarding diagnosis, therapy, or related clinical circumstances. The guidelines may be developed by government agencies at any level, institutions, professional societies, governing boards, or by the convening of expert panels. The guidelines form a basis for the evaluation of all aspects of health care and delivery.	Clinical Guidelines as Topic,Best Practices,Best Practice