People with spina bifida are also at higher risk, Clore said. Fewer than 2 percent of employees at Owensboro Mercy Health System are allergic to latex, said Janet Hayden, assistant vice president of marketing and planning. Clore is treating about 100 patients now. Most of them are health care workers. Symptoms of latex allergy often mimic hay fever or asthma.
Patients can experience itching and swollen eyes, runny nose, sneezing and chest tightness.
Often, it begins with a rash on the hands when using latex gloves. The most severe cases can result in a substantial drop in blood pressure and a life-threatening form of shock called anaphylaxis. That's what happened to Greenwell, a medical technologist at Western Kentucky Regional Blood Center who had to give up her career. Now she has to call ahead to restaurants to see if employees prepare food with latex gloves. She had to throw out rubber-backed draperies and rugs.