Latex is characterized above all by a high elasticity. Which results in an ability to adapt to the most fruitful environment? Both properties form a hard and flexible material at the same time, widely used in the manufacture of mattresses and other comfort surfaces. Breathability is another of the most used features, as well as durability and it’sin deformable nature.
Where does latex come from?
Health is one of the fields that most resorts to the use of latex.
Applications
Since its discovery in 1736 by the French botanist Charles Marie de la Cond amine, the use of latex has spread to more than 40,000 products from different fields. As for example, the sanitary field. All the prevention items used in the hospital are made of rubber: gloves, masks, probes, enemas, catheters, plasters. The textile industry has also taken an incredible advantage of this element, especially in the sports and bathing environment. The characterization and make-up, the market for condoms, school equipment and the motor world are other applications related to latex. What products contain latex? Your will know that also.
However, among all of them, alternative medicine stands out, which attributes various healing properties to this ingredient. The effects depend on the plant species from which it comes. In the case of the reddish latex of the genus Croton, we are facing an exceptional scar. Which also helps with stomach ulcers? The latex of the fruit of the papaya is very good to end with the intestinal worms. While the orange variety heals warts and herpes. In the face of all these achievements, we often forget its authentic nature, which in many cases can be harmful to health. Therefore, it is important to know all the varieties beforehand, as well as their main properties and functions.
Latex is a white liquid, a mixture of rubber particles in water. You can process the liquid into rubber. The further processing of rubber depends on the desired properties; rubber has many applications. Rubber is in benches, chairs, cushions, mattresses, boots and bicycle tires and soothers, but rubber bands are also rubber bands. Rubber provides resilience, so you can sit comfortably and your boots are supple.
Current situation
Natural rubber is extracted from the rubber tree: Heave Brasiliensis. Synthetic rubber comes from petroleum. Natural rubber is a mixture of many hundreds of natural rubber particles and proteins. These proteins can cause a (skin) allergy. Some people are allergic to natural rubber. That is why, for example, surgical gloves are used for synthetic rubber.
Natural rubber is much stronger, but on the other hand it also ages faster than synthetic rubber and then, for example, pieces can break off. Or think of an old rubber band; that is sometimes hard and crumbly.
Risk explanation
Products with latex in it are in normal use Safe to use for babies, children and adults. Some people are allergic to natural rubber. They react to rubber in a product and suffer from skin rash, itching, bumps or irritated mucous membranes and have a so-called contact allergy.
Allergy
If you have a contact allergy for natural rubber, it is better to opt for a product made from synthetic rubber. On the label of the product you will find an overview of the ingredients.
Latex allergy is an allergic reaction to proteins that occur in latex. Latex is made from a milky liquid from rubber trees. Latex allergy occurs when the body confuses latex for a harmful substance.
Insight into latex allergy and knowledge of which products contain latex can help prevent allergic reactions.
Latex allergy symptoms
People who are allergic to latex get an allergic reaction in most cases after being in contact with latex allergy and latex gloves latex rubber gloves. Allergic reaction can also be caused by inhaling air containing small latex particles. The particles are released when someone puts on or off latex gloves, for example. Latex allergy symptoms range from mild to severe. It depends on the sensitivity (the severity of the latex allergy) and the degree of exposure to latex. Allergic reaction may worsen with exposure to and contact with latex. For example, people working with latex gloves daily have an increased risk of developing latex allergy symptoms.
Mild latex allergy symptoms
In case of a mild case of latex allergy, the symptoms are usually:
- Itching
- Redness and irritation of the skin
- Hives or skin rashes
Slightly more severe latex allergy symptoms
In a slightly more severe allergic reaction to latex, a number of symptoms are added. In a slightly more serious, but not directly life-threatening case of latex allergy, the symptoms include the following:
- Running nose
- Cough
- To sneeze
- Hoarse / sore throat
- Itchy / watery eyes
- Difficulty in breathing / wheezing
Anaphylactic shock symptoms
Anaphylactic shock can be fatal. Anaphylactic reactions can occur immediately in highly allergic people after exposure to latex. Anaphylaxis, however, rarely occurs with the first exposure to latex.
Symptoms of anaphylaxis include:
- Difficulty breathing
- Hives or swelling
- Nausea and vomiting
- A wheezing
- Drop of blood pressure
- Dizziness
- Loss of consciousness
- Confusion
- A fast or a weak pulse
When should I consult the doctor about latex allergy?
Seek urgent medical attention immediately if you suspect an anaphylactic reaction.
It is convenient to visit the doctor during a latex allergy reaction. The symptoms themselves can see and examine will help the doctor to make the diagnosis.
- Causes of latex allergy
- Latex allergy antibodies
- In the case of latex allergy, the body makes antibodies.
In latex allergy, the immune system incorrectly identifies latex as a harmful substance. The immune system then makes certain antibodies to combat the allergen. At the next exposure to latex the body makes antibodies again. This signals the immune system to release histamine and other chemicals in the bloodstream. It is the histamine and other substances that cause the symptoms and symptoms. The more exposure to latex, the greater the chance that the immune system starts to react by making antibodies against latex. (The hypersensitivity to a certain allergen is called ‘allergic sensitization’)
How is latex allergy caused?
By breathing latex. Latex products, especially gloves, emit small particles of latex. The particles are released into the air and are inhaled. The amount of latex released from gloves is very different depending on the brand of gloves. For more information, visit Laidtex.
