We are surrounded by rubber. Rubber bands, balloons, car tires, elastic bands in underwear are just a few of the thousands of everyday products that contain latex, the milky sap from rubber trees that is the main component of rubber. Indeed, latex is found in some 40,000 products, ranging from rubber gloves and condoms to erasers and undergarments.
Most people can handle latex without any problems.
In recent years, allergies to latex have become an increasingly common problem, especially among health-care workers and patients undergoing many medical or surgical procedures. Latex is found in many medical devices and products, including blood-pressure cuffs, catheters, anesthesia and hemodialysis equipment and latex gloves. Frequent exposure raises the likelihood of developing an allergic reaction to the material. Increased sensitivity to latex is partly due to the fact that so many more people use latex gloves since the onset of AIDS, but no one knows the whole story yet. Proteins cause latex allergies.