I received an email yesterday of the dangers of Wal-Mart flip flops. Apparently, several people have gotten “burns” on their feet after wearing flip flops purchased at Wal-Mart. I did a little searching thinking this may be an allergy as opposed to the China conspiracy many others believe. According to a story on FOXNews.com, it is, yes, probably due to a reaction to a rubber and/or latex allergy.

According to Dr. Nanette Silverberg, director of pediatric and adolescent dermatology at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York, the burning sensation is most likely due to allergies to the rubber on the shoes or to the chemical components used to break down the rubber in the shoes. It is probably not due to chemicals in the shoes because then many more people would have had the reaction. Silverberg explains that it is probably a rubber reaction which is not as severe as a latex reaction. These particular reactions were self-contained (it remained right where the rubber touched the feet), whereas, latex reactions can lead to more serious reactions, such as hives and anaphylaxis.

Interestingly enough, people in the medical profession have the highest rate of latex allergies. This is due to the amount of contact they have with latex, in particular, gloves. I began to wonder what if the patient has an unknown latex allergy and comes in contact to the latex through gloves used by the doctors and nurses in surgery. How dangerous could that be?

Apparently quite dangerous, as latex gloves are being phased out and new and safer types of gloves are being used. The article, Rubber Gloves: “Born” And Now Banished, discusses the creation of latex gloves at The Johns Hopkins Hospital and now how Johns Hopkins is ending use of all latex products.

Because of the high use of latex in medical supplies, not only in gloves, and the high incidence of dangerous latex allergies, new materials are being used to create these same products. It is the natural proteins found in latex and rubber, from the rubber plant, (just like in food) that causes the reaction. Therefore, alternatives have been created that don’t have the natural plant proteins. The replacement gloves which are now available are made of one of three synthetic products — neoprene, polyisoprene or vinyl, none of which contain natural plant proteins.

As the article states, it is fitting that The Johns Hopkins Hospital is where the first latex gloves were developed and introduces, then at Johns Hopkins, immunologists Robert Hamilton, Ph.D., and Franklin Adkinson, M.D. were the ones to conduct early key research related to the problems of natural rubber latex as an allergen. Now, the same hospital is taking the initiative to promote better alternatives.

Needless to say, the medical world is always changin!

- Heather Legg