Allegiance doesn't dispute that latex allergy exists, she said, and encourages people with latex sensitivity not to use their gloves. The company even has nurses who go to customer hospitals to educate about the allergy and its prevention. Latex allergy is a serious problem, she said. It's no different than someone who is allergic to peanuts or bees. That's a specious argument, Borel said.
Nobody encounters latex naturally.
It's not like pollen, it's not in the grass, it's not in the dirt, it's not just part of nature. Cells of the immune system make a record of the allergen. Some are programmed to look for that specific allergen in the future, to seek it out and destroy it. That programming is sensitization. At its essence, allergy is hyper sensitivity, an overreaction of the immune system.