Allergic reactions to natural rubber.

Immediate hypersensitivity reactions to natural rubber pose a significant risk to patients with spina bifida and urogenital abnormalities, health care workers, and rubber industry workers. Other patients, outside of these high risk groups, have experienced severe allergic reactions to natural rubber as well. Awareness of this life-threatening condition by health care providers is essential if reactions are to be prevented. History alone is inadequate to identify all patients at risk, and reliable testing materials are not yet approved or widely available. Nonrubber medical devices are readily available for most uses; however, the only rubber-free condoms currently on the market do not prevent the transmission of sexually transmitted disease. The identification and detection of rubber antigens, along with mandated labeling for rubber antigen content, will contribute to the care of this growing population of patients. Efforts by the rubber industry to decrease the antigen content of natural rubber products will decrease the risk of reaction among sensitized patients and will, very likely, decrease the rate of sensitization in the future.