[inspir8tion]

I had a similar question. Mine was re: using Betacept on Hyperthyroid patients. I got an answer here: http://allnurses.com/forums/f39/beta...ts-192953.html

[crackerjack]

Originally Posted by TracyB,RN

Our anesthesia group has a favorite quesion asked to patients when they say they have a latex allergy?? Is it a documented allergy??
Or, the all-time favorite... do you wear underwear? Think rubber in the waistbands or bra straps

Most people are so baffled by those questions. It's really sad.
Occasionally, we get the patient who knows all of the potential triggers for latex allergy... I LOVE THOSE PATIENTS...

Gosh, that's the broken record with OUR anesthesia group...imagine that!!! grrr

[nurse bling]

Hi,
There seems to be some misinformation about shellfish and iodine and betadine please view this site......http://www.sdiradiologists.com/PatientInfo/pt_iodinated contrast.htm

[nurse bling]

www.aaaai.org/aadmc/ate/category.asp?cat=1030

Please check this out about shellfish allergy and iodine and radiopaque dye...........
The allergy to shellfish is due to the protein in it NOT the iodine! Dragonnurse1 you need to check your info

[AmyBRN]

I know that this is an OLD post, however just thought I'd share something. I've never been officially allergy tested, but I am DEFINETLY allergic to shrimp, (hives, itching, difficulty breathing). My mom is a nurse also and when I was a kid/teen I wasn't allowed to have any shellfish after 2 or so reactions (first reaction I was with my aunt, and we weren't sure if it was something else). Anyway, when I was about 14 or so, I had a pretzel at the mall, you know the one with lots of salt, the REALLY good ones, and later on, I started getting hives and had difficulty breathing, and that had also happened again a year or so later (My reactions aren't usually immediate, usually an hour or so later I start reacting), In the salt, there is iodine, as well as in shrimp, hence I am allergic to iodine. However, I think it could be a possibility that people allergic to shrimp, are allergic to the protein, OR the iodine.

[ghillbert]

Originally Posted by peddler

SO my kid eats pasta sauce one night made with shrimp, but removed because he thought the shrimp were nasty and didn’t want to try one.

Enter deviated uvula, angioedema, difficulty swallowing, cough……..and all be happy that dad is a smart ER nurse at the time. I max load H1 blocker, H2 blocker, and prednisone….had no epi at the time just lying around the kitchen (I do now).

I live 6 minutes from work with traffic….i make it to the ER in about 30 seconds doing 100mph. Throw my kid in the trauma bay with O2 and pulse ox and tell everyone I need the ER doc now and I log into the pyxis and grab epi.

Wow.. I almost got hives reading this story. If I lived that close to an ER, there's no way in hell I would be doing half of those extremely risky moves!

[Dragonnurse1]

LAForum in Yahoo groups It is just that a support group of latex allergic people with lots of knowledge compiled be its members.

[Dragonnurse1]

I "love" Doctors that ask for a positive blood test for latex allergy when 90% of dx latex allergy is history and reactions. With 250 protein and 11 currently id'ed as potential allergens - they just don't get it. Someone that has had gamma gobulin treatment will not show IgE under normal conditions.

On another note related to shrimp and shellfish, Often when they are processed the workers wear latex gloves and cooking does not destroy latex proteins.

For all nurses make note of the following:
if you are uncongested when you get to work and congested 1 hr later--
when you take off latex gloves and begin to itch--
when you take off gloves and develop blisters--
you start haveing chest pain or breathing pain--
But when you are off duty for several days and all this goes away - think latex allergy.
I am a pain for everyone because I am allergic to neoprene, latex, all adhesives, chemical cleaning odors, formaldhyde(had to wear respirator to mothers funeral)
tire dust and I will quit there. I have lost my drivers license due to my sudden onset of laryngospasms and their severity.
Do not take any sign of latex reaction lightly and learn about latex. Do not assume that anyone that knows "all the sx of latex allergy" not one of us that has it knows ALL the sx. We know ours. Learn yours. Skin allergy (type 4) always progresses to type 1 with continued exposure to latex and it is not only in the hospital it is in 40000 items

[ShariDCST]

Originally Posted by Dragonnurse1

I "love" Doctors that ask for a positive blood test for latex allergy when 90% of dx latex allergy is history and reactions. With 250 protein and 11 currently id'ed as potential allergens - they just don't get it. Someone that has had gamma gobulin treatment will not show IgE under normal conditions.

On another note related to shrimp and shellfish, Often when they are processed the workers wear latex gloves and cooking does not destroy latex proteins.

For all nurses make note of the following:
if you are uncongested when you get to work and congested 1 hr later--
when you take off latex gloves and begin to itch--
when you take off gloves and develop blisters--
you start haveing chest pain or breathing pain--
But when you are off duty for several days and all this goes away - think latex allergy.
I am a pain for everyone because I am allergic to neoprene, latex, all adhesives, chemical cleaning odors, formaldhyde(had to wear respirator to mothers funeral)
tire dust and I will quit there. I have lost my drivers license due to my sudden onset of laryngospasms and their severity.
Do not take any sign of latex reaction lightly and learn about latex. Do not assume that anyone that knows "all the sx of latex allergy" not one of us that has it knows ALL the sx. We know ours. Learn yours. Skin allergy (type 4) always progresses to type 1 with continued exposure to latex and it is not only in the hospital it is in 40000 items

OK - this caught my attention because you mentioned several seemingly unrelated items that I have developed significant sesitivities to over the last several years. Back in "another life" I worked in a very nice restaurant kitchen as a prep cook, and found that the first time I began portioning out scallops, which I had never had contact with before that I am aware of, the juice got on my arms above the level of my food handler's (NON-latex) gloves and my arms broke out in a red, patchy, itchy rash almost immediately.
Now, I was raised on the East Coast, right on/almost IN the Chesapeake Bay, and fresh seafood was a basic part of everyday life. I never had, nor do I now, have any issues with any other seafood item that I care to eat, including shrimp, lobster, crab, oysters, clams and any kind of fin fish. Scallops seem to be the only culprit.
Until I started working a different job several years ago, part of which involved opening, emptying and breaking down a large quantity of cardboard boxes containing IV and pour fluids sealed with some kind of adhesive that is dry and hard and brittle when it sets. My arms once again broke out in red, patchy, itchy rashes everytime I was required to do that. Wearing long sleeves didn't help. I also react to bandaids, tapes, EKG pads and any other kind of adhesive that comes into contact with my skin. BUT - as far as I know, and this is because I'm a CST and wear them on a daily basis, I am NOT allergic to latex gloves, or balloons, underwear elastic, or anything else that could be dermal-related. (Antibiotics are another story - I just had to add another one to the list, making five of the most common that I now cannot take.) Does this indicate some connection with latex that might leap up to knock me over later on? I've never had issues with Iodine, or MRI contrasts, or anything else related to that I am aware of. Are these things related? Or are they just a random list of things that I just happen to be sensitive to? Anybody have any ideas? I know diagnosing and medical advice here is a no-no, but I'm looking for anecdotal information that might give me an idea of which way I need to go, and what to look forward to later.

[Dragonnurse1]

Have you heard about Multi-chemical sensitivity(often simply called MCS)? Make a list of everything that causes you to react to and all the antibiotics that you are allergic to and go to a really good Dermatoligist. If you are lucky and you have a Dr. that believes in MCS he may be able to corralate the reactions. You said in your post that you have added another antibiotic to your no-no list. This proves that your intolerance for antibiotics is advancing and your reaction to chemicals in your daily life can also grow.

I had never been allergic to anything even poison ivy. My Dad and I used to pull it up by the roots bare-handed until one day (after I had become a nurse) I pulled some poison ivy and had a reaction. I landed in the hospital ER, my ER where I worked; epi, benadryl and steroids. My first reaction was so bad that the Dr. told me that I must never touch the stuff again because the next reaction might put me on a vent. Add an allergic reaction to neoprene and a dx. of latex sensitivity and I was a walking time bomb. I went off March 12, 2003.

How well can you eat bananas, canteloupe, tomatos, potatos? I am southern born and southern bred, that means that tomatos and canteloupe were foods that I grew up on and love. My last canteloupe was in 2005 - i itched for 48hrs non-stop even my eyes itched.

Avoid adhesives as much as possible as each exposure tends to be a little worse than the last Make that list and find an up to date Dr. and follow up with your reactions

Hope you figure out your trigger. Good luck