Caring with Caution: Latex Allergy Training in Healthcare
As a healthcare worker, you’re twice as likely as the general population to develop a latex allergy over the course of your career. You’re also directly responsible for protecting potentially allergic patients from latex exposure.
What do you know about protecting yourself and others in a clinical setting?
This article aims to educate you on the intricacies of latex allergies, shedding light on their prevalence in healthcare and emphasizing the importance of training to safeguard both patients and healthcare professionals.
What Are the Symptoms of a Latex Allergy?
For some people, latex exposure causes a skin reaction called contact dermatitis. This means the skin that touches latex may become dry or scaly and start to itch or burn.
However, latex exposure can result in a more severe general allergic reaction in addition to contact dermatitis symptoms. This is called latex hypersensitivity, and symptoms include sneezing, runny nose, itchy, watery eyes, and wheezing. It’s rare, but the most severe cases of latex hypersensitivity can cause potentially life-threatening anaphylaxis with difficulty breathing, hives and swelling, low blood pressure, dizziness, and chest pain.
The Prevalence of Latex Allergies
Repeated exposure to latex makes you more likely to develop an allergic reaction, which is why latex allergies are much more common among healthcare workers than anyone without regular occupational exposure.
While the general population has a 4.3% prevalence rate, that of healthcare workers is more than twice that at 9.7%.
However, some non-healthcare workers are also at a heightened risk for latex allergy. Anyone with a medical condition that results in frequent exposure to latex is more likely to develop an allergy due to increased exposure – especially those with a history of other allergic reactions.
People who are allergic to avocado, banana, chestnut, kiwi, or passion fruit may have cross-reactivity to latex.
Strategies for Reducing the Risk of Latex Exposure
As a healthcare worker, it may be difficult to avoid latex exposure entirely.
That said, there are steps you can take to reduce the likelihood that you’ll develop an allergic reaction, according to the CDC. They include:
- Educating yourself on latex allergy symptoms, risks, and prevention methods
- Using non-latex gloves for activities where you’re not likely to have contact with infectious materials, like routine housekeeping
- Using reduced-protein, powder-free latex gloves when handling infectious materials to reduce exposure to allergenic proteins
- Avoiding oil-based creams or lotions that may cause latex gloves to break down
- Washing hands with mild soap, then drying them completely after latex glove use
These days, there are also latex-free alternatives for gloves that are still appropriate for handling infectious material. These are necessary for anyone with a latex allergy, but they’re also beneficial in minimizing latex exposure for both healthcare workers and high-risk patients.
The Importance of Latex Allergy Training
Latex allergies are an occupational health risk for healthcare workers, and as such, providing training in hazard recognition and prevention is the best practice for employers under OSHA.
As a rank-and-file healthcare worker, you should consider latex allergy training even if it’s not offered through your employer. A detailed look at how to minimize the likelihood of a latex allergy can help you protect yourself, your coworkers, and patients who are at heightened risk.
As an OSHA-authorized training provider with over 20 years of experience in online compliance training, we offer a self-paced 1-hour Latex Allergy course that’s affordable and IACET-accredited.
