REPEATED EXPOSURE TO LATEX CAN TRIGGER ALLERGIC REACTIONS.

Byline: Suzanne Zolfo Medical Tribune News Service

The nation's allergists are stepping up their efforts to inform the public about the possibility of allergic reactions to latex rubber, according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.

About 18 million Americans - or 64 in every 1,000 - are currently affected by latex sensitivity, up from one in 1,000 people in the early 1980s, according to the ACAAI. Until 1987, doctors had not even identified adverse reactions to latex as a true allergy, the group said.

People who work with medical supplies, such as nurses and lab technicians, are particularly at risk for latex sensitivity because of their constant exposure to the rubber, the ACAAI said.

But as use of condoms and many other consumer goods containing latex has risen, the general population has increasingly encountered the material.

``The doctors are seeing a new patient every week with latex allergy,'' said Jo Ann Faber, public relations director of ACAAI in Arlington Heights, Ill.

Symptoms of latex allergic reactions range from hives and itching to a serious condition called anaphylactic shock, a life-threatening reaction that causes the throat to swell up, hindering breathing.

Under pressure from the ACAAI and other health groups, the Food and Drug Administration is currently considering requiring the labeling of latex content in medical devices, a proposal that was accepted by the FDA in June and is open to comment until Sept. 23, the ACAAI said.

``The proposed regulations are a good first step to try to improve safety for people with latex sensitivity,'' said Dr. Dennis Ownby, director of pediatric allergy and immunology at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Mich.

Latex is a common ingredient in sterile and nonsterile gloves, stethoscopes, tourniquets and many other pieces of emergency medical equipment.

The rubber is ubiquitous in medical and laboratory settings because it is effective in preventing the spread of AIDS, hepatitis and other infectious diseases, according to the ACAAI.

The general public is exposed to latex in condoms, rubber gloves used for housework, nonslip bathmats, elastic bands in clothing and balloons, the Michigan doctor said.

``Latex labeling - on consumer goods - would be a nightmare, but for people with latex sensitivity, it would make their lives a lot easier,'' Ownby said.

``There's been a presumption in the United States that latex sensitivity is common among children with spina bifida - triggered by their exposure to latex gloves in multiple surgeries - and health-care workers, and that members of the general public have very little risk of latex allergy, less than one in 1,000,'' Ownby said.

But in 1994, Ownby tested the blood of 1,000 blood donors in the Detroit area for latex antibodies, and found that 64 had them.

Only people with latex antibodies, which develop from repeated contact, will have an allergic reaction, but having the antibodies does not mean that person will definitely have an allergy, Ownby explained.

Once a person has been diagnosed with latex allergy, there is currently nothing they can do to avoid symptoms other than avoid latex, Ownby said.

Hospitals should use powder-free, low-protein latex for people who are not allergic to latex, because the powder in gloves enables the latex proteins to become airborne, irritating those in the vicinity, said Wava Truscott, a vice president for Safeskin, a San Diego-based company that makes latex gloves.

Although there are some alternatives to latex, some are not as durable, and therefore not as effective at preventing infection, she said.