At my school we have one student that is allergic to latex (severity unknown) the other day some of the students had balloons that they were going to use to decorate for spirit week after school. Mom was here with said student and pulled her child out of the building and all latex balloons were banned for the event, now I am being looked at to help make a decision whether or not to ban all balloons in the school while she is attending. (we are a small private school less than 300 students).
Has anyone come across this before? Per Mom the allergy is severe but we have no documentation other than its an allergy and I am awaiting a call back from her doctor to help us make an educated decision. We have had balloons in the building from time to time since the beginning of the year with no incidents.
Any and all comments, suggestions will be helpful I'm at a lose as what to do on this one. We have multiple peanut allergies but didn't ban peanut butter.
I'm so tired from this week, I thought you meant wild bears were paying attention to these foods ?. Can't wait for the weekend! Just gotta make it through the polar vortex first.
Specializes in ICU/community health/school nursing.
17 hours ago, UrbanHealthRN said:
I'm so tired from this week, I thought you meant wild bears were paying attention to these foods ?. Can't wait for the weekend! Just gotta make it through the polar vortex first.
BEARS are NOTICING!!! Where is @Davey Do when I need him????
And I'm laughing under my desk again. Swimming, swimming, just keep swimming!!!
A lot of fruits can cross react and it seems to vary by person. Some people can't seem to eat any tropical fruit or melon and the next can't eat any stone fruit or chestnuts. (and who even knows if they can eat chestnuts or not? I had them at a winter hayride when I was about 10 and never crossed paths with them again.) I don't know if avocado is a stone fruit or a tropical fruit but they seem to be a problem as often as bananas. It also cross reacts with the nightshade family allergies (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, pepper)
I'm so tired from this week, I thought you meant wild bears were paying attention to these foods ?. Can't wait for the weekend! Just gotta make it through the polar vortex first.
speaking of being tired and noticing thing the wrong way... am i the only one who keeps seeing the little banner up top that says "server tweaking up ahead" as server twerking up ahead - i get to giggling when i think about the server shaking it's money-maker!
Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).
11 minutes ago, Flare said:
speaking of being tired and noticing thing the wrong way... am i the only one who keeps seeing the little banner up top that says "server tweaking up ahead" as server twerking up ahead - i get to giggling when i think about the server shaking it's money-maker!
twerk (twərk) verb
gerund or present participle: twerking
dance to popular music in a sexually provocative manner involving thrusting hip movements and a low, squatting stance.
"just wait till they catch their servers twerking to this song!"
I have a hard time believing that latex can allergens can cause any significant symptoms while airborn... and I am even more suspicious about this particular students case since there is no documentation from her PCP office or a prescribed epipen. If it was truly that big of an issue to cause a (relatively dramatic) response from the mom then one would think there would be a significant noted history.
I would like to see the moms reaction when you tell her about an epipen... it should tell you a lot.
Have you ever given her a latex bandaid? Honestly if she does have any allergy then you should see a reaction to the bandaid.
I always suspected I have a latex allergy (can't wear latex gloves or eat kiwi) but I totally forgot about my bandaids... so I tried covering up a zit on my chest with a bandaid recently and it BURNED the shape of the sticky part of the bandaid on my chest for a week! Burn + monstrous zit= quite a looker.
My friend from nursing school is a school nurse, she told me that a student and the parent came to her because said student has a gluten intolerance to gluten "in the air". Yup. In the air. No epipen nor any history noted for this allergy.
Specializes in Cardiology, School Nursing, General.
21 minutes ago, Thanksforthedonuts said:
I have a hard time believing that latex can allergens can cause any significant symptoms while airborn... and I am even more suspicious about this particular students case since there is no documentation from her PCP office or a prescribed epipen. If it was truly that big of an issue to cause a (relatively dramatic) response from the mom then one would think there would be a significant noted history.
I would like to see the moms reaction when you tell her about an epipen... it should tell you a lot.
Have you ever given her a latex bandaid? Honestly if she does have any allergy then you should see a reaction to the bandaid.
I always suspected I have a latex allergy (can't wear latex gloves or eat kiwi) but I totally forgot about my bandaids... so I tried covering up a zit on my chest with a bandaid recently and it BURNED the shape of the sticky part of the bandaid on my chest for a week! Burn + monstrous zit= quite a looker.
My friend from nursing school is a school nurse, she told me that a student and the parent came to her because said student has a gluten intolerance to gluten "in the air". Yup. In the air. No epipen nor any history noted for this allergy.
No paperwork, never happened. So unless she brings it, you can't do anything. I would ask her for an epi-pen or history from the doctor, doesn't bring it, there's your answer.
I have a hard time believing that latex can allergens can cause any significant symptoms while (airborne).
The powder inside the latex balloons goes airborne when the balloons pop and gets inhaled, which can cause an allergic reaction in people with a latex allergy.
We have a no latex balloon rule at the summer camp where I work because our camp director is severely allergic to latex (and bananas, strawberries and avocados). I actually have had someone have a contact reaction to Telfa gauze that had latex in the packaging, which I didn't even think about, which was clearly labeled.
I agree, you need medical documentation for this kiddo, and then you can figure out the best plan of action.
The powder inside the latex balloons goes airborne when the balloons pop and gets inhaled, which can cause an allergic reaction in people with a latex allergy.
We have a no latex balloon rule at the summer camp where I work because our camp director is severely allergic to latex (and bananas, strawberries and avocados). I actually have had someone have a contact reaction to Telfa gauze that had latex in the packaging, which I didn't even think about, which was clearly labeled.
I agree, you need medical documentation for this kiddo, and then you can figure out the best plan of action.
Makes sense. I guess we might be seeing more of these type of reactions in the future. One would think however that you need to be particularly close to the allergens (such as the power in the balloon) to get much of a "dose"?
I never thought about Tefla gauze! I realize that I'll need to be more cognizant for my residents with latex allergies and actually read the label.
For the case with the kid with a "gluten air allergy" they were able to get a doctors note but no epipen. Conveniently they also sent an updated list kid's whole list of medical diagnosis which included some psych history. Poor kid is only in elementary.
ruby_jane, BSN, RN
3,142 Posts
Bananas, strawberries, maybe kiwi.... you're right. Bears noticing.