Amongst the population there are some, the exact numbers are not known, but it is probably within the range of 1-2%, who react strongly to a number of common conditions. These include light, high temperatures, and a vast number of natural and synthetic substances, including insect stings, contact with certain toxic plants, common foodstuffs and drugs, such as penicillin.

A young Scottish athlete died because he ingested a very small quantity of peanuts in a chicken sandwich. He made a mistake in not reading the contents of his sandwich, and although extremely fit (in an athletic sense) he died very quickly. Deaths from eating peanuts, or from being prescribed penicillin are not rare⁵. There were six peanut fatalities in Great Britain in 1993. Other literature shows that peanut allergy is a widespread, serious problem^6-8. Being a natural product may be dangerous: many die from consuming wild mushrooms, or from contact with plants which contain defence mechanisms. Nevertheless, people are also allergic to many man-made substances, including many fabrics and PVC.

Like many human conditions there is a continuum from those whose bodies are relatively insensitive to a wide range of conditions to those who are ultra-sensitive and who may have to avoid exposure to strong sunlight for even quite short periods. The symptoms ascribed to latex protein allergy may be traceable to a wide range of foods or contact with other materials.

Only tests will show if a patient who thinks he is allergic to latex proteins is potentially at risk, although there is a relatively high probability that such an allergic person may have had this alleged allergy triggered by something else. There is a growing literature concerning those who experience "cross allergies" with an equally expanding range of foods, clothing and other materials. These people are [unfairly] tagged as being sufferers of latex protein allergy, whereas they may in fact be sufferers of peanut, cornstarch, or a vast range of foods, allergies.

There is a high probability⁹ that those who are liable to suffer from latex protein allergy are atopic, that is they are predisposed to allergic responses to a range of materials. In an in-depth study it was found that sufferers tended to have a history of skin allergies and to have a history of skin damage in the form of several symptoms. Latex may not have triggered their allergic reactions: cornstarch may be far more important as the vector than has been given credence. Thus it is never entirely clear that latex protein allergy has been the trigger for some allergic reaction, rather than a common food, such as bananas.

When discussing allergic reactions to foodstuffs it is important to distinguish between those who think that they are allergic to some item of food and those who are actually allergic, as indicated by clinical tests^10-11. Between 10% and 20% of the population¹² consider themselves to be allergic to foods, but clinical tests reduce the actual occurrence to about 2%.

Furthermore, both those who think that they, and actually are, tend to be female and/or young. It would seem to be highly probable that a similar ratio may exist with "allergic reactions" to latex goods. The peculiar nature of the American medical profession (claims of up to 17% having the "potential" to be allergic) towards latex gloves would appear to be widely at variance with "normal" allergic behaviour. Certainly, there is a preponderance of female sufferers. This may be because more females wear gloves, or because females are more prone to detecting allergic reactions: western women tend to be extremely "skin conscious".

There is a further factor which does not appear to have been considered, namely the wearing of a restrictive material over extended periods. It is probable that the fear of AIDS led medical workers to wear gloves for protracted periods without cause in case they needed to handle a patient rather than donning gloves for specific tasks. Unfortunately, there does not appear to be any literature on this, although there are references to the risks of wearing general protective clothing for long periods in relation to increased body temperatures. Presumably extensive donning must also tend to damage the skin.

References
⁵Sampson, H.A. Managing peanut allergy. BMJ, 1996, 312, 1050.
⁶Gregg, E.O. Peanut allergy. J. R. Soc. Med., 1998, 91, 59.
⁷Moneret-Vautrin D.A. et al, Food allergy to peanuts in France: evaluation of 142 observations. Clin. Exp. Allergy, 1998, 28, 1113-19.
⁸Sicherer, S.H. et al, Prevalence of peanut and tree nut allergy in the US determined by a random digit dial telephone survey. Allergy Clin Immunol., 1999, 103 (4), 559-62.
⁹Taylor JS, and Praditsuwan P., Latex allergy. Review of 44 cases including outcome and frequent association with allergic hand eczema. Arch Dermatol., 1996,132, 265-71.
¹⁰Altman, D.R. and Chiaramonte, L.T. Public perception of food allergy. J Allergy Clin Immunol 1996, 97, 1247-51.
¹¹Jansen, J.J., et al. Prevalence of food allergy and intolerance in the adult Dutch population. J Allergy Clin. Immunol., 1994, 93, 446-56.
¹²Young E, et al., A population study of food intolerance. Lancet, 1994, 343, 1127-30.