From birth, she had used a rubber pacifier, especially during sleep,'' Venuta and colleagues write. The girl also had a history of rash on her scalp and around her diaper area. Skin prick tests revealed allergy to natural rubber latex but not to common foods and allergens. The authors recommend that latex allergy be considered in infants with persistent coughs who use rubber pacifiers. Kim offers this tip to parents who think their children may be allergic to latex.
Experts say toxins pose a potential threat, but more studies are needed.
By Francesca Lyman The best food for a baby, physically and psychologically, is mothers' milk, doctors agree. IT WAS DARK in the conference room, as slide after slide flashed by on a huge screen. Up came an image exposing a stark-looking roster of chemicals that read like the manifest of a Superfund site. A mother of two boys and a successful physician in her late forties who asked not to be identified, stood aghast, her jaw hanging open. My eldest child has many of the problems of children exposed to PCBs.