Norwich Bulletin recently ran a story about Teresa Huber, a 38-year-old mother of two with severe latex allergies.

‘This is just one more way my life was altered,’ says Huber, who could go into anaphlyaxis by walking into a store with latex Halloween masks or latex balloons. ‘Every day I do more research and every day I discover something new in my house, like a certain toy, that has to go. It takes time to adjust.’

‘It's so much more than just staying away from gloves,’ Huber points out. ‘It's about balloons, flip-flops, bike tires, even Band-Aids. Latex is a problem.’

According to the American Latex Allergy Association, latex allergy affects between one and six percent of the general population and 17 to 25 percent of healthcare workers.

‘There are no standardized extracts to do skin testing with,’ says allergist Dr. Denis Baillargeon, ‘and the only blood test available can often produce false negatives because there are several different types of latex proteins. This is not the type of allergy one can give traditional allergy shots for, either.’

Huber receives weekly shots of Xolair, which block IgE antibodies that cause allergy symptoms, but the shots are very expensive. She says that allergy education is the key managing allergies: ‘It's just about letting people know this is out there and helping them be more aware.’