Jennifer's Story

We first suspected a latex allergy when my daughter was almost two years old. We put a bandaid on a sore on her arm. A few days later, when we took it off, welts had formed just under the adhesive part of the bandaid. The welts gradually shrunk, but even a year later, you can still tell where the bandaid was placed, as some redness remained. She always had sensitive skin when she was in diapers. For example, if we put her in any diaper except Huggies Supremes, her bottom would break out in a horrible rash that got worse as she got older. It was unclear whether the break-out was due to the amount of moisture the diapers allowed to remain close to her skin, or whether there was some unknown substance in the diaper she was reacting to. It wasn't just a rash, it was an itchy oozy kind of rash that she scratched until it bled. The Doctor suspected sensitive skin, but with the information of the possible latex allergy, he said it was possible she was allergic to the plastics used in the diapers.

Back to the bandaids, we weren't sure if her reaction was from the latex or the adhesive or just skin irritation due to the bandaid being on for an extended time. The non-latex bandaids did not cause this reaction. We tried the latex bandaid again but for a shorter time, and it did turn red underneath.

Two days ago, her hands swelled up with hives for the first time. She had handled and eaten fish and had been in the cold just before it happened, but it is unclear which if either gave her the reaction. Yesterday she was playing with the balloons and a flour-water substance we were using to make paper-mache and her hands broke out in hives. Today, after handling the balloons (without the flour-water substance), she has hives on her hands and some on her shoulder and legs. In some places the hives are huge, looking more like welts. This weekend is the first time she has had this reaction after playing with balloons, though she has handled balloons several times in the past.

Jennifer

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