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Allergic to Latex VS. Surgical Speciality


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Hi all:

 

I was wondering if people that are allergic to latex can go into a surgical specality.

 

I was under the impression that most sterile surgical gloves are made with latex.

 

The extension of my question, provided that the above assumption is correct, is what do surgeons do when their patients are allergic to latex?

 

Thanks all!

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Hi all:

 

I was wondering if people that are allergic to latex can go into a surgical specality.

 

I was under the impression that most sterile surgical gloves are made with latex.

 

The extension of my question, provided that the above assumption is correct, is what do surgeons do when their patients are allergic to latex?

 

Thanks all!

I think the answer to the first question is a question-- how allergic is the person to latex?

 

Not all surgical gloves are made of latex-- there are non-latex gloves.

 

If the patients is allergic--> avoid using latex.{ref}{ref} :)

If the surgeon is allergic--> special operating room set-up... or quit doing surgery. One of the obstetricians I worked with said one of her friends finished training... but then had to quit 'cause of allergies. :(

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Hello,

 

I saw a surgery last summer in which the patient was allergic to latex. Surgeons used gloves that were latex-free. Almost all the other material was already latex-free, for example tubes, so that was not really a problem.

 

These gloves are more expensive, but they do the job. So I guess if a surgeon is allergic to latex, there is possibility to work with those gloves...

 

I hope so because I'm allergic to latex and I really want to be a surgeon!

 

Julie

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Hello,

 

Thank you crackers for your reply. I already asked my allergist about that, and he told me that there was no immunotherapy avalaible for latex allergy.

 

My test was negative for the immediate reaction to latex, it's more like a skin reaction that I had after working in a research lab for a week, before entering med school. But it could worsen with exposure. I don't get symptoms if I don't wear them, I mean it's not a problem if the entire OR team wears them (I was in a OR for a couple of weeks this summer). Isn't it possible for a surgeon to always wear non-latex gloves like the ones they use when the patient is allergic?

 

I was wondering if any of you ever heard of a surgeon allergic to latex, or what do allergic medical students do on their 3rd year surgery clerckship? I'm doing it next year, so I was wondering.

 

Thank you bustylegs for bringing up that subject, it's been bothering me for a while.

 

Julie

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Hey,

 

There might be, but I doubt it's a widespread phenomenon.

To the person who is allergic to kiwi- is it kiwi the fruit or kiwi the bird? I'm going to go out on a limb and guess the fruit! Hahaha, me funny!

... or perhaps to New Zealanders? --they call themselves "Kiwis". :P

 

In any case, there does seem to be some amount of cross-reactivity between latex allergens and proteins present in kiwifruit. Also, it appears that immunotherapy may be effective-- based on this small study:

Vozza I, Ranghi G, Quaranta A. Allergy and desensitization to latex. Clinical study on 50 dentistry subjects. Minerva Stomatol. 2005 Apr;54(4):237-45. PMID: 15973237.

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  • 3 years later...

Depends how allergic is "allergic".

 

Do you anaphylax coming into contact with latex?

 

I remember the story of an upper-year clerk who was REALLY allergic to latex. Super careful. Anaphylaxed twice or thrice during clerkship. Intubated/ICU once.

 

Long story short, it's pretty well impossible as a physician to avoid latex in a hospital. The clerk in question is now doing law school. (I guess she wasn't into psych).

 

So it really depends how allergic you are.

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Depends how allergic is "allergic".

 

Do you anaphylax coming into contact with latex?

 

I remember the story of an upper-year clerk who was REALLY allergic to latex. Super careful. Anaphylaxed twice or thrice during clerkship. Intubated/ICU once.

 

Long story short, it's pretty well impossible as a physician to avoid latex in a hospital. The clerk in question is now doing law school. (I guess she wasn't into psych).

 

So it really depends how allergic you are.

 

Dude, thread is 4 years old.;)

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